Summer of the Traveling Princess
by RenaYumi
Summary: Globe Trotting, and other things you probably should avoid doing in a bikini. Follow Aelita's first summer since her release from Lyoko as she discovers things about herself and the world around her she never could have imagined. Humor/Friendship/Romance/
1. All Of The Above

**Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Summer Report of Sorts.**

**_All Of The Above_**

**_A/n: Globe Trotting, and other things you probably should avoid doing in a bikini. Follow Aelita's first summer since her release from Lyoko as she discovers things about herself and the world around her she never could have imagined._**

**_Dedication: First, to Jeni: For dealing with my insanity and random creative outbursts. For understanding why I need my ego stroked on occasion. And also for always having something sarcastic and brilliant to add. To Kitty: For all the titles, even if they were for our autobiography and not my story. For her patience and comments way below the gutter. Also for editing this in the shortest amount of time ever. To Snowy: For not eating my brain. Thanks darling. And to all my friends at Xana's Lair for making me laugh. Love you all._**

* * *

_'My summer vacation started with a bang…..'_

**O**dd slammed his book bag onto the bench louder than, probably, necessary. With a shout of excitement, he threw his arms into the air.

"It's summer!" Yumi smiled, rolling her eyes good humouredly as she joined the rest of the gang on the ground in the shade.

"Great observation." He danced a victory dance in the grass before his friends, anyway. The gang was seated on the ground in a semi-circle, smiles plastered on their faces. The scene played out perfectly; at noon it was already a comfortable eighty degrees with a breeze. The sun warmed their skin and sparkled off the green eyes of one, Aelita Stones. Dressed in new pink shorts, a white tank top that looked like it had been swiped from one of the boys' dressers, and a pair of neon orange flip-flops; the girl looked happy and just a tad confused.

"No school!" Odd continued to jump around, earning glances from nearby groups and a few teachers walking off campus.

"No school? Like a long weekend?" Aelita questioned. Yumi stretched back, brushing shoulders with Ulrich in the process.

"A three month long, long weekend," the older girl explained. Aelita tugged at the bottom of her shorts.

"Where will we learn, then?" Fully confused now, she turned her attention to the blonde boy next to her for an explanation.

"We have a break. We won't be learning, at least school wise, until vacation is over."

"Yep!" Odd finally calmed down enough to drop onto the ground, closing the gap between Ulrich and Jeremie. "Just some fun in the sun! With all of us, of course." Yumi gave a bit of a half sigh.

"All of you. Japan, remember?" she asked, looking rather disappointed.

"Germany," Ulrich seconded, still wearily glancing at Odd for further outburst. Jeremie look frustrated.

"My parents expect me back for the summer, as well," he sighed. Aelita's posture changed, eyes slightly alarmed as she pulled nervously on the blades of grass by her knees.

"Where… Where will I go?" she asked quietly. The others looked unalarmed, but Odd blinked, almost shocked by her worry.

"With me, naturally! I'm going to see the 'rents in New Zealand if everyone is taking off. You'll absolutely love it." Aelita glanced around the circle nervously.

"And I won't see everyone else until September?" Aelita asked. Jeremie paled at the notion.

"You could always come with me. I mean, I'm sure my parents won't mind giving up the guestroom for the summer; they've really wanted to meet you, anyway." The offer came out rushed in a single breath. Jeremie's cheeks were tinged pink, his eyes glued to the ground and the school building behind Yumi and Ulrich, anywhere but on the girl next to him. Aelita smiled appreciatively at the bespectacled boy, but then looked around the circle at the rest of her friends.

"I don't want to be away from any of you; A whole summer without my guardians?" she added with a small grin. Glances were exchanged amongst the teens.

"I guess we really hadn't considered summer break," Yumi pointed out. She and Ulrich looked at each other. He shrugged.

"It's her first summer. We can't stick her with one person for the whole time."

__

'Travel plans were changed last minute by a sudden ingenious idea…'

"What if I went with all of you?" Aelita suggested brightly. Jeremie adjusted his glasses, looking carefully at the girl.

"Aelita, we'll be all over the globe. You can't possibly be with all of us at the same time," he pointed out. A light bulb seemed to go off in Odd's mind, and he leapt to his feet.

"Princess, I think that's a great idea! There's ten weeks of vacation; that's …" he quickly did the division in his head.

"Like, two weeks and a few days in four different countries. You'll have a blast!"

__

'It was all downhill from there; the promises of summer.'

Aelita's face brightened at the thought. She brushed loose strands of pink hair from her eyes.

"Would that be ok with everyone?" she asked in a small, yet excited, voice.

"I'd love to have you come out with the family," Yumi said lazily, stretching her bare legs out in front of her. "They adore you; you know that."

"I wouldn't mind having you for a few weeks, either. Sorry though, I make no promises anything exciting will happen." Ulrich smiled at her continually brightening mood. Jeremie weighed the options as he watched the interaction, the plan unraveling before him; seven weeks apart _was_ better than ten- but it was still seven weeks without Aelita. The eyes she was staring at him with melted his heart.

"Well, Aelita, where would you like to go first?" Aelita squealed, clinging to him in a quick hug.

"Really? We can pull it off? Do you think your parents will be ok with all this? Last minute plans and all?" she babbled happily. The others laughed. "Wow, this is exciting! I'll get to fly, won't I? Well, of course, you can't exactly get to Japan by train, right?" Her smile dropped off abruptly. "Wait! That's… three plane tickets and at least _one_ train ticket... At least two-hundred euros each way... How on Earth will I pay for the travel alone guys?" Jeremie put a hand on her shoulder, gaining her attention momentarily.

"Calm down, Princess. I think I've got the solution for this." He took his laptop from the bag behind him and booted it up. "One advantage to going though all of Franz Hoppers personal records was finding all the information I need to access his bank accounts." He turned the laptop into the circle.

"Isn't that…illegal?" Aelita questioned. Jeremie shook his head.

"Think of it as your inheritance."

"Well… how much is there?" She glanced down guiltily at the laptop. The blonde shrugged.

"Enough to take care of you between now and graduation." Aelita's eyes widened.

"Yeah! Graduation from university!"

"That's what I meant." The others were stunned to silence.

"And you were just going to keep this a secret?" Well, except for Odd.

"Just as good of a time as any to tell her," Jeremie said with a grin.

"This is great!" Aelita exclaimed, throwing herself over Jeremie, nearly cutting off his oxygen supply in the process. "Where to first?" she asked. As Jeremie's color started to return to normal he managed a suggestion.

"Well, logically, whoever leaves the soonest is who you should go with. That way you'll get the maximum time out of France." _And away from me,_ his mind added, partially in bitterness, partially in jealousy.

"Looks like Germany's your first stop, Princess. Our train leaves at 7:10am tomorrow morning," Ulrich said, resting back on his elbows.

"Awesome! Looks like I have some packing to do." She was on her feet in less than a second, beaming the entire time. Sudden realization left her thoroughly embarrassed, smile faltering and face turning red.

"Something wrong?" Jeremie asked, slightly concerned by the sudden turn in her excitement.

"I've… never packed anything before," she admitted. "Will someone help me?"

"I'll help if you'd like," Jeremie volunteered. Ulrich and Odd traded eye rolls.

"Jer just wants in her drawers," Odd commented. Yumi shot him a dirty look and Aelita looked baffled.

"Why would Jeremie want--"

"Just leave it, Lita. Odd's just showing his maturity level. Or lack thereof." Yumi dismissed the comment with a wave of her hand.

"Yeah, well… packing is more of a, oh, what's the phrase, Ulrich?" Odd asked, resting back on his elbows as well.

"Girl thing?" Ulrich offered.

"Yes! Yes, that's it. We have manly things to do. Jer, so do you. You're not going on a panty raid today."

"Fine, go play your video games. Us _girls _will go pack." Yumi rolled her eyes, getting off the grass via Jer's shoulder and Ulrich's head. "I have a feeling we're going to have to make a store run tonight," she said with a smidge of regret in her voice.

"Oh, wait." Jeremie dug back in his bag, producing a silver piece of plastic. "You'll probably need this if you're going shopping."

"A credit card? Jer, just when were you planning on telling Aelita she was an heiress?" Ulrich asked, eyebrow raised.

"When they used the money to elope, of course!" Odd teased. Jeremie returned to his natural shade of crimson.

"Debit, actually. And I was only able to transfer the account into her name yesterday, so it's not like it was a well kept secret," he said trying to ignore Odd. "You'll need to sign as Aelita Stones." She quickly claimed the card, shoving it in her pocket.

"Thank you, Jer!"

"We'll see you boys at dinner." Yumi waved as Aelita dragged her towards the dorm.

__

'Proper packing technique will somehow take twenty square feet of closet and dresser space and cram it all into a neat, little, three square foot pile.'

Aelita's set of suitcases were pink with pale green stars sporadically placed over all the sides. A full suitcase, a smaller travel duffle, and a cosmetic case, all matching, had sat untouched in her closet for months since her birthday earlier that year. Odd figured _eventually_ the girl would need to go _somewhere_ and she'd need them. For once in his life he was right.

Yumi's mobile rang as she plopped down on Aelita's bed. She scowled, pulling it from the front pocket. It was Odd.

"How much trouble could they possibly be in? We've only been gone five minutes." Aelita giggled as she unzipped her suitcase. "What Odd?"

"Hey! Make sure Aelita has flip-flops for the beach, ok?"

"Yeah, sure Odd. Bye." There was a shriek of 'That reminds me!' in the background and the phone was claimed by someone else.

"Yumi? It's Ulrich. Make sure Lita has hiking boots, too, ok? She's going to need them."

"Hiking boots, flip-flops. Got it. Bye Ulrich." Yumi hung up the phone. Aelita was already slipping the shoes into the clear plastic compartment on the inside of the lid.

"Check!" she said, cheerfully bouncing back to her closet. Yumi smiled and got off her bed, setting her mobile on the vanity.

"Add tennis shoes to that list, as well. I'll start on your cosmetic bag. Where's your toiletries bag?" Aelita motioned to the last drawer under her bed. "Thank you." Just as she reached for it her phone rang again.

"What now?" Aelita laughed as she folded a few pairs of shorts. Yumi tossed the small pink toiletries bag into its proper suitcase and put the phone on speaker.

"We're packing; I thought you were doing boy things."

"Which is why I'm calling. Aelita has a bikini right?" There was an exclamation of Odd's named followed by shuffling and muffled cursing.

"Odd, what do you want?"

"I'm serious. She's going to need that, too. She could always pick one up here, but it may be a good idea to have an extra."

"Got it, Odd. Goodbye." Yumi ended the call and started packing Aelita's makeup into the bag.

"A bikini? Well, he did mention the beach right? That makes sense. That's one of the things I'll need to pick up." As Aelita finished folding her shorts, she packed them neatly in her suitcase. "What do I put in the duffle, by the way?" she asked, head tilted.

"I'd put a quilt or throw a blanket in there. Everyone will have bedding and such for you, but it's always nice to have one. Then I'd put some things that can do without being folded really neatly, like your pajamas and a few sweatshirts, in there. Maybe--" she was cut off by her ringer. "What now?!"

"Yumi, It's Jer. Please don't let them drag her around in some skimpy--"

"It didn't have to be skimpy!"

"-Shut it, Odd! Some skimpy bikini. Aelita has much too high a stand--"

"Oh get _off_ it, Belpois!"

"I said shut up! Look out for her, will you? These two _hounds_ will probably--"

"That's it!" The line went dead and Yumi sighed.

"Skimpy bikinis?" Aelita questioned. The older girl had moved onto the small bag of hair accessories Aelita had on her vanity, packing it neatly alongside her makeup in the cosmetic bag.

"Just ignore them. You can hold your own; I'm not worried." Yumi left the essentials for the morning on her vanity, ready to be packed, and shut the cosmetic bag, moving on to her drawers. She eyed the drawers. "You know? Plan B. Pack everything that's not winter. If you need anything while you're being a worldly traveler, just buy it."

"Sounds good." She glanced back at her closet and then to the suitcases. "I'm going to need a bigger--"

"Not if you pack it right." Yumi started packing pajamas into her duffle. With an irritating ring her phone went off yet again. Aelita took aim at it with her flip-flop. "Don't. It's not worth buying a new one."

"Right." Aelita laughed, stuffing the pair in with the rest of the shoes. Yumi hit the speaker button.

"I swear…." Yumi warned. She noticed a calm silence accompanied by a series of clicking.

"It's Ulrich, Yumes. Listen, make sure Aelita has whatever she _needs,_ ok? I don't want to be dragged to the store if she runs out of, uh, _girly necessities."_ Aelita looked at Yumi for an explanation.

"Translate?"

"_Huh?_ Girly necss—What? _Tampons_, Ulrich?"

"What?! I'm just saying!" There was a loud giggling.

"Yumi said tampons."

"Shut up, Odd." Yumi glanced at Aelita. She was a bright pink, eyes on her folding.

"Lita?" Yumi asked, "Do you have..?" Aelita glanced at the phone and then at her. "They'll get over it."

"No. I mean I haven't gotten around to it and … well…" she trailed off.

"It's ok. Ulrich? I need a favor." Yumi finished the pajamas and moved to the next drawer.

"Sure."

"I need you to run to the store for me. It's closer than my house."

"What?! _Yumi!_ Absolutely not. I'm busy." The girl rolled her eyes.

"Killing things?" She didn't really need to ask; the sounds of animated battle accounted for most of the background noise on the boy's end of the phone.

"Level eighteen!"

"Don't let me disturb you. We'll pick it up while we're out." She hung up the phone and shut it off. "I hate them."

Somehow managing to get every piece of clothing the girl owned into two bags, the girls left the room to go in search of sun block, sunglasses, a bathing suit, and as Ulrich so delicately put it, _girly necessities. _By the end of the night, Yumi only had a handful of advice for Aelita.

"I don't care what Odd tries to tell you, if you think it may be dangerous you probably shouldn't do it. Keep Jer updated so he doesn't have a hernia or something and… call me, too, ok?" Aelita leapt at her, pulling her into a hug.

"Thanks for the help, Yumi."

"Have a good summer, Lita." She waved goodbye and moved down the hall to say goodbye to Ulrich.

"Knock, knock." She leaned into the open doorway, tired smile on her face. Ulrich stopped bouncing on his suitcase long enough to look up at her.

"Hey Yumi." He proceeded to pull on the zipper while holding the lid down.

"Hey." She hopped up next to him, adding just enough weight to get the zipper closed all the way. "I think you need a bigger suitcase," she informed him. He rolled his eyes, pushing her off the suitcase and onto his bed. He pulled the overstuffed bag to the floor next to a second smaller one.

"Is Aelita all packed?" he asked. Yumi stretched out, crossing her leg over her knee.

"Yes," she yawned. "Are you going to take her bags for her or should I come up in the morning and help?" she teased.

"I think I can handle it. She doesn't pack like you do, does she?" He knocked her foot back over her knee and sat down at the foot of the bed.

"I moved across the world. You think I could fit everything I own in one bag?" she scowled. He threw his hands up.

"Just saying."

"One suitcase, a duffle, cosmetic bag and her backpack. You have three, she has three and a little carry on." Yumi sat up on her elbows, hair falling back out of her eyes. "And where is Odd by the way?" Ulrich shrugged.

"Him and Kiwi left about a half hour ago and headed out the back doors." She fell back onto his pillow. "So when are you leaving for Japan?"

"Three-ish weeks. And then I'll be back three days before school starts," she answered.

"I'll be back the day before you then. I think Odd gets back the night before class starts or something ridiculous like that." She rolled over, feet hitting the carpet before standing up.

"That's Odd for you." She gave him a hundred watt smile in her brightest attempt to ignore what was coming next. "I should probably let you get settled in. You have an early morning and I don't plan on getting up till noon." Ulrich stood up as well.

"Unfortunately for me," he joked.

"Keep Aelita out of trouble at least, ok? She gets a little rowdy around you boys."

"Hey!" Ulrich laughed, giving her a light shove. She shoved back. "I will if you will," he bargained. Yumi raised an eyebrow.

"If I will what?"

"Keep yourself out of trouble." She smiled, pulling him into a hug. He hesitated for a moment before wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Yeah, ok," she agreed, finally.

"I'll miss you, Yumes," he admitted, bright red.

"I'll miss you, too." She released him reluctantly and awkwardly stepped back. "Have a good summer. Keep in touch."

"Well, I expect to see you on that webcam of yours weekly with the rest of the gang," he said, face still flush. She nodded, backing out the door.

"Bye Ulrich."

"Have a good summer, Yumi."

**A/n: Thanks for reading! Stand by for chapter two. R&R!**


	2. Of Trains and Sunflowers

**Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Summer Report of Sorts.**

**_Of Trains and Sunflowers: A Travel Guide To Germany_**

**_A/n: This story is so hard to control! Some many ideas are spinning and I'm trying to give you guys the very best of them. A big thanks to Kittyclaw for being so neruotic and helping me make it so. _**

**_Dedication: To Jeni for 1am!Crazy, 2am!Insanity and 3am!Madness. And, of course for reading and putting up with Melissa and I. To Kitty, for her nerosis and being so amazing. Enjoy._**

* * *

__

'Mass transit is amazing. Take it everywhere.'

**S**he had never been on a big train before. Small subways through the Kadic area, and once through Paris, but never all the way to Germany; and never on a train with sleeper cars. She breathed in every detail of the morning rush buzzing round her; people passed, rushing to greet loved ones or to simply catch their own train. Ulrich tugged on her arm as they boarded and she soaked in even more. Most of the doors were slid open, revealing cabin after cabin down the length of the passenger cars. She was met with the sleepy faces of children, men with their noses buried in their newspapers and the occasional cheerful smile as the searched for their seats.

Once her luggage was stored after almost twenty minutes of Ulrich dragging it and struggling to lift it up the stairs, the engineer called for boarding passes. The girl was in silent awe, bubbling about the cabin in the barely dawn hour of six forty-five in the morning. Ulrich slouched in his seat, a look of tired amusement on his face.

"Calm down, Lita," he laughed quietly.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so excited! Do your parents know I'm coming? They really aren't going to mind me staying?" She dropped herself down in the seat across from him. The pink backpack next to her feet fell over against her shin.

"I called them last night. Mom is thrilled, I promise. My sister, Tiffany, is picking us up at the station, so our ride is covered, too." There was a whistle and the train lurched slightly forward. Aelita's attention scattered around in excitement only to come to rest back on Ulrich.

"I didn't know you had a sister," Aelita said, pushing her bangs out of her face. She turned her attention the window, where the station was now falling out of sight behind them.

"I have two sisters, actually; Tiffany and Charlie. You'll get to meet them both." Ulrich yawned for the millionth time and checked the time on his cell phone.

"What should I know about them?" Aelita asked, tucking her legs up underneath her.

"Tiffany and Charlie? Well… Tiff's my oldest sister. She's the stable one. Probably the only normal one in the whole family." He laughed lightly. "She's engaged to Gavin Carrier- I'm sure you'll meet him, too. Mom says he's always hanging around the house. She's been a persecuting attorney for the last five years, too. She's really nice."

"She's engaged? Wow, Ulrich. That's really exciting. How did she meet him?"

"That's the ironic part; Gavin's a defense attorney. Apparently, he was the first defense attorney ever to show her up in a court room. Love at first, well, fight," the brunette joked, leaning his head against the window. Aelita let out a high pitch, full, laugh.

"They sound just like you and Yumi!" Her guardian turned red.

"Aelita! Come on! Yumi and I aren't like that-- I mean. We're not-- Why don't you get some sleep?" He turned his attention out the window, cheeks still tinged in embarrassment. Aelita's laughter dulled to a giggle.

"Tell me about Charlie first. Is that her real name? Or a nickname?" she asked, eyes staring out as they passed the edge of the city limits. Her limbs felt heavier as her excitement started to settle down. She counted up the hours of sleep she had gotten the previous night, and stopped at four.

"Her real name is Charlie, and she'll remind you of it whenever the opportunity presents itself. Charlie is, well, she's my twin."

"No way!" Aelita gasped. She wrapped her arms around herself, head rested against the window. "That must be so cool!" Ulrich held his hands up.

"She's more than slightly insane though. We're not that much alike, really."

Aelita's eyes dropped slightly. "I can't wait to meet them," she murmured, yawning into her arm.

"They'll love you, I'm sure." But the pink haired girl, curled up in her pink shorts and orange t-shirt, was already asleep, lulled by the sound of the tracks.

__

"Jer! You didn't have to get up. Ulrich and I could have handled the bags." Aelita dropped her backpack, running the short distance on the sidewalk to throw her arms around the blonde. He blushed slightly, holding her tight against him.

"Heh, well, I couldn't just let you take off to travel the world for the summer without saying goodbye," he admitted as she pulled away. It felt like little pieces of him were still clinging to her. "Besides, there was only one bag left." He motioned to the duffle at his feet.

"Ready, Aelita?" Ulrich asked. Aelita smiled at him and then looked back to the blonde.

"You better get going then," he offered strongly. She laughed, burying her face against his shoulder as she hugged him again.

"Have a great summer! I'll call you!"

The train rolled into the station around eight pm. It was dimly lit when they stepped off the train and onto the platform; the yellow, tall lights looming over the walkways were dull and captivating. Aelita's eyes jumped from light to light, an elfish smile on her face. This place would be perfect for one of Odd's films, she decided instantly.

Instantaneously, the haze from sleep had worn off for the both of them.

German buzzed through Aelita's ears and she picked out bits and pieces she had learned from Ulrich and in class. They moved into the crowd and she attached herself to Ulrich's shirt absentmindedly, so as not to be separated in the mass scramble. His brain protested due to the fifty million pounds of luggage he was currently dragging behind him; he really didn't need to have her tagging along holding onto him as well, but he said nothing.

__

'Again, mass transit; stuff of wonders. Much better and faster if you sleep through it.'

They retrieved their bags, stopping in a relatively clear spot. Ulrich took out his cell phone and speed dialed a number.

"Tiffany? We're here… In front of the train. No, you are not! I don't see you." He addressed his sister in English and Aelita was pleasantly surprised to find out there wouldn't be too much of a language barrier on this trip. She glanced around, hoping to find some form of resemblance in the faces of the people around them. It took a moment before she realized she'd never seen as much as a picture of Tiffany Stern and would probably never recognize her.

"-rich! Ulrich!" A few people to their right were briefly shoved aside, a rush of apologies followed. "Ich bin traurig! Ich bin traurig! Sorry!" A girl broke through the wall of people, face slightly flush. Her messy chocolate brown hair was pulled into a makeshift pony at the crown of her head, and she was dressed in jeans, rolled to her knees, and a white tank top that seemed to be covered in something blue.

"Tiffany?" Aelita mused, looking at Ulrich's amused expression. He nodded smugly.

"Ulrich! Oh my gosh, Squirt!" She dove at him, enveloping him in a hug. "You got so freaking tall! When did this happen?" The younger Stern groaned.

"_Tiff_, you're terrible. Save the pet names." Aelita laughed at the display, hands over her mouth as she tried to hide the bubbly hysterics. Tiffany released her brother, an obvious smile on her face. "Tiffany, this is Aelita Stones. Aelita, my sister, the soon-to-be Tiffany Carrier," Ulrich introduced.

"Tiffany Carrier-_Stern_," Tiffany corrected, punching Ulrich in the shoulder. He snickered happily to himself. She turned her attention back to Aelita. "Nice to meet you, Aelita. Can we get home now?" she addressed Ulrich with the question. "I left Gavin alone _painting_ at the new house, Squirt."

"Heaven forbid," Ulrich remarked sarcastically. He picked up his suitcase and Aelita reached for her bags that he had been carrying for her only minutes earlier.

"No! No! I've got them, you're our guest." Tiffany snatched up the bags effortlessly, hauling the two duffels onto her shoulder and tucking the trunk-like rolling luggage under her arm. Aelita tilted her head, slightly baffled as Tiffany started towards the car.

"Eighteen years of soccer," Ulrich explained quickly.

"Runs in the family then?" Aelita teased, adjusting her backpack. Ulrich started to follow Tiffany, the younger girl trailing behind him.

"You have _no_ idea," he sighed, smile never leaving his face.

__

'Siblings act a lot like best friends and that worries and thrills me all at the same time.'

"Oh, and Squirt? Make sure--"

"_Pinney_," Ulrich whined. "Stop calling me Squirt." Aelita giggled, drawing her eyes away from the window and the scenery she was trying to memorize. Her camera was poised against the glass when Ulrich squeaked an 'oops'.

"Pinney?" she questioned. Tiffany grinned, glancing into the rearview mirror.

"Ulrich's hero-worship nickname from when I played soccer. It seemed like I was always coming home in a pinney. You know? Those colored vests for scrimmage games?" Aelita laughed at the thought, nodding her head. Though, she'd seen Ulrich in them more often then not during soccer season so he really had no room to talk, but she kept the thought to herself.

"Oh sure," Ulrich grumbled rather loudly, "You'll ask about her nickname but not about mine? Thanks, Princess."

"Well Ulrich, I assume you were, at one time, smaller than you are now," Aelita remarked. The brunette proceeded to turn bright red. Tiffany returned her eyes to the road.

"Picture all two feet of him cheering at my games. It was the team nickname for him."

"Tiffany!" He shoved her shoulder and the car swerved an inch to the right.

"I can still take you on, little brother," Tiffany threatened. The more she watched them, the more Aelita thought of Odd and Ulrich when they were together.

__

'Normal people probably don't take fifty-seven pictures of Germany's countryside in one car ride. But that's ok with me. However, you should see how many I took of the house.'

Once you got past the wrought iron gates, though they looked more decorative, like they had never been closed and never actually served any purpose as gates, the driveway of the Stern residence changed to brick. It was rather long, compared to the ones she had seen in Kadic, the house itself sitting back on the property almost an acre. It looked like something out of a movie, really. It was stunning. For some reason the driveway really pulled at her attention, though. It was done in paving bricks; all different shades of reds and light browns that swirled and intermixed before separating into different patterns and seemed to go on forever.

The house was rather large, Aelita noticed as Tiffany parked the car. The siblings were still trading snide remarks, though Aelita didn't pay much attention as she drew in the details of the house's grand entrance. The oak double doors caught her attention immediately. The large window over the doors gave a _lovely_ view of a glass or crystal chandelier hanging over a large set of stairs. The lights inside shined outside into the evening.

"Coming, Aelita?" Ulrich asked. The girl scrambled to get her seatbelt off, cheeks pink.

__

'If you're going to have a big house, have one with style.'

"Ulrich? Is that you?" A shorter woman, dark hair swept over one shoulder, moved quickly from the pantry to the kitchen; dishtowel still thrown over her shoulder. Her smile dissolved into a look of annoyance upon seeing her guest. "Oh, Gavin. It's you." Blue eyes looked back at her guiltily, half hidden behind red-blonde hair.

"Why hello, Mrs. Stern. You look lovely today. New hair cut? New outfit?" He was dressed in blue scrub pants, covered in blue and white paint, and white a T-shirt, also covered in a variety of paint splatters. Mrs. Stern rolled her eyes.

"Carrier, don't mess with me." She moved over to the oven, checking dinner. "Did you confirm the guest list like I asked?"

"Two-twelve will attend the wedding and one-seventy-four to the reception after," he said cheerfully, a tiny bit of smugness showing on his face.

"Mom! We're home!" Tiffany sang from the hallway. She set the bags in her arms at the bottom of the stairs, leading Aelita and Ulrich towards the kitchen. "And just look at the strays I picked up at the-- Gavin! What are you doing here! You're _supposed_ to be painting." She crossed the kitchen to where her fiancé was leaning against the island counter.

"I ran out of paint," he defended.

"Ulrich!" Mrs. Stern dropped her towel on the counter, taking swift steps that almost looked like dancing to Aelita as she observed the interaction of the family. "Welcome home!"

"Hey mom." Ulrich let his mother pull him into a hug, allowing a small smile to show on his face.

"Don't you 'hey mom' me," she teased. "Oh my! I'm sorry darling, I didn't even see you there," she addressed Aelita, releasing Ulrich. "It's really a joy to get to meet you, Yumi."

"Oh, I'm not-"

"Though I distinctly remember being told you were taller. Ulrich? Sweetie didn't you tell me she was taller than you?" Ulrich was bright red and Tiffany was laughing.

"Mom! This is Aelita. Remember? The friend I told you was coming out for a few weeks? Yumi's in France." Mrs. Stern slapped a hand over her mouth, slightly embarrassed, but not nearly enough to slow her down.

"Oh, silly me. I'm sorry, dear. Aelita? Right, Aelita Stones. I should have known, pink hair and all but you never know who's following the latest trends with kids today." Aelita laughed looking from the expression on Ulrich's face back to his mother's look of excitement.

"It's a pleasure, Mrs. Stern. You have a lovely home, by the way. Thank you for having me."

"Aelita? This is Gavin Carrier." Tiffany slung an arm over the boy's shoulders, nearly having to stand on her tiptoes. "He's my hired help. Painter. He's _so _never getting paid though for being such a slacker." Gavin's smile never faltered as he seized the girl up by the waist, lazily tossing her feet first over his shoulder. She squealed beating her fists against his chest. "Gav! Put me down!"

He ignored her completely.

"Nice to meet you, Aelita. And good to see you, Ulrich, but Tiff and I can't stay. We need to get back to the new house and finish painting."

"Hey! I thought we were out of paint!" Tiffany protested. Gavin looked down at her innocently.

"I lied."

"Bye, Gavin." Ulrich laughed as he looked at his sister's current predicament.

"Nice to meet you, too, Gavin. And thank you for picking us up, Tiffany. It was nice too meet you." Aelita smiled politely, almost disappointed Tiffany was leaving.

"Ulrich, why don't you show Aelita to her room?" Mrs. Stern suggested. Ulrich nodded, giving his sister and future brother-in-law one final eye roll before leading Aelita back to the stairs.

"They're really nice," Aelita said quietly, arms folded across her chest when they made it to the main hallway.

"They have their moments," Ulrich agreed, grabbing most of the bags at the bottom of the stairs. Aelita grabbed the rest, slinging them over her shoulders.

The guest room was beautiful, she decided immediately. She had to restrain the giggle that was emerging in her chest when she saw the décor.

Was her mother like this? Did she decorate in sunflowers? Did she spend days in old clothes, tarps spread out, painting rooms? The very thought made her laugh. She only ever pictured her parents around computers, never home decorating.

The room was a pale, mossy green. The far wall covered in an intricate mural of intertwining sunflowers weaving in and out, starting from the floor and spreading onto the ceiling. The bedding was a pale, happy yellow, that matched the sheer yellow curtains pulled over a floor to ceiling window.

Ulrich set her bags at the end of her bed. "I hope this is ok. Mom gets a little carried away with decorating sometimes. It's like a sport to her." He gave a rare smile at the joke.

"No! It's perfect," Aelita insisted, putting the rest of the bags down. Suddenly the sunshiny bed looked rather inviting. "So, where's Charlie? And your father?" She questioned, slipping out of her flip-flops. Ulrich glanced at the small sunflower clock on the dresser.

"She should be getting out of gymnastics, actually. Dad's probably picking her up." Aelita yawned, eyes wandering back to the bed.

"Would your mother be terribly upset if I skipped dinner? I don't mean to be rude but…" she trailed off, tugging on the hem of her shirt. Ulrich laughed.

"No way, Princess. I get it; get some sleep." He headed for the door, but stopped halfway, turning over his shoulder. "Oh, and make sure you call Einstein, alright? We don't need him all in a panic."

Aelita turned a nice shade of pink. "R-right. Goodnight, Ulrich."

"Night, Aelita." He closed the door behind him and Aelita reached for her phone.

__

'When you're really tired, every bed looks comfortable. When that bed just happens to have a down feather mattress topper and the fluffiest pillows you've ever seen? Well, it'd be just plain rude to not sleep in it."


	3. Of Breakfast Conversation

**Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Summer Report of Sorts.**

**_Of Breakfast Conversation: A Family Study_**

**_A/n: Don't make that face. You can't expect things from me. Updates? Come now, you have too much faith. You know I'm neurotic._**

**_Dedication: To Kitty. For making that face and being on 'vacation' with me. Also, cheesecake. Not for cheesecake, but to Kitty because of the cheesecake. _**

**_Disclaimer! Charlie Stern belongs to the wonderful Abdominals. You may not touch her. Or talk to her. Actually? Don't look at her either._**

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'_Waking up in a strange place is not a comforting feeling.'_

Her first thoughts after opening her eyes were that of panic of confusion. The unfamiliar room was painted in pale sunlight, touches of yellow and pale pink exposed to the light, reflecting off prisms of glass hanging in the window.

Startled, Aelita sat up, pushing the too-fluffy-to-be-hers blankets back. A second later she collapsed back onto the bed, realizing where she was. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes, stretching her legs out over the bed.

"Princess? Breakfast is in ten if you're hungry." Ulrich stood in the doorway, dressed in a baggy green sweat pants and a white tank top. Aelita uncovered one eye to look at him. "Are you going to get up?"

"Morning Ulrich. I'm up." She swung her legs out from under the sheets, her feet touching the cold hardwood. "I think I'm going to splash some what on my face." Ulrich yawned, running a hand through his messy hair.

"I'm going to go wake Charlie up. There should be towels on the counter." He waved, turning to cross the hall. He opened the door, peering in only to see Charlie sprawled out on her stomach, feet dangling off the bed, arms wrapped around a pillow. He stepped through the door, bare feet met with the lime throw rug on her bedroom floor. Charlie didn't stir.

With a bit of an evil glint in his eye. Ulrich launched forward onto the bed, landing half on the girl. Charlie was startled awake, kicking at her sheets and throwing punches at her brother.

"Off me!" she yelled. Ulrich seized her waist, tickling her though the black tank she was wearing he was pretty sure was stole out of his room at some point. She laughed uncontrollably, shoving his hands away, rolling off the edge of the bed and dragging him with her. "Ulrich!"

"Hi." Her hair was half falling out of it's once neat bun, streaks of blue and green peaking out from under the natural chocolate color. Ulrich was sprawled next to her, tangled in her sheets face down on the floor. The annoyed look on his sister's face gave way to a grin.

"Dork."

"Mom says it's breakfast time." She shoved him and he sat up.

"Is your friend up?" He stood, untangling himself from the sheet and offering her a hand to get up. She kicked him in the shin and stood up.

"Ouch! Missed you too, Chare." She smiled sweetly at him. "Yes. She's up."

"Well then let's go!" She took off through the doorway into the hallway. She nearly lost her balance when she crashed into Aelita. "Woah, sorry Yu-- you're not Yumi." Aelita blinked.

"Thank you?"

"No, no! Sorry it's just mom said Ulrich brought home his girlfriend." Aelita grinned.

"Yumi's still in France."

"Ah-ha!" The brunette pointed a finger at her brother's immerging form. "I knew you were dating her!" Ulrich shrugged her off.

"Breakfast."

"Yeah, yeah." She shoved him aside. "He's so lame. Why are you friends with him?" Aelita chuckled, pulling the blue sweatshirt that been in her arms over head.

"I'm using him to get to his cute friend," she teased.

"She speaks the truth." Ulrich turned and headed down the stairs.

"Smart thinking," Charlie grinned. "You must be Aelita. I've heard plenty about you. Let's get breakfast before Ulrich flips his shit." The younger girl laughed.

"Don't stand too close. She's a bad influence," Ulrich called back over his shoulder. The girls trailed after him. "Speaking of bad influences you never called Jer. I talked to him and Yumi around eleven last night, they say hello."

"The cute friend?" Charlie question. Aelita laughed, pulling the sleeves of the sweatshirt over her hands.

"Yeah. I'll have to call him back later." She followed the siblings into the kitchen where Mrs. Stern had already set the table in five places. The twins were arguing about something, she realized, but she hadn't been paying attention to what as she sat down across from her guardian.

'_There comes a moment in your life when you realize 'this is what a family breakfast looks like' and you don't know if you should laugh or cry.'_

"Good morning," Mrs. Stern greeted. "Henry, this is Aelita. Ulrich's friend," she introduced to the man sitting next to her. Henry glanced up from his newspaper long enough to smile quickly at the girl and then returned to his paper.

"Coffee!" Charlie cheered, reaching for the coffee pot in the middle of the table. Ulrich snatched it before she got the chance to grab it.

"I thought you quit," he taunted pouring himself a cup.

"I cut back! Give it!" Charlie reached across him, hands outstretched for the pot.

"Coffee, 'Lita?" Aelita could only shake her head at the display, taking a sip of the orange juice that had already been poured for her.

"Ulrich, just give it to her. It's hopeless," Mrs. Stern scolded.

"I could quit if I wanted to!" Charlie protested, banging one fist on the table. Ulrich smirked.

"Well then?"

"Well I don't want to!" The kitchen door opened, revealing Tiffany dressed in black dress pants and a white sweater. He held a pair of red high heels in her hand.

"Gavin left without me because I took too long in the shower." She reached over her mother's shoulder and stole a piece of toast popping a piece of the crust in her mouth. "Ow, coffee." She stole the pot from Ulrich, getting a cup from the rack on the counter. Charlie whined.

"Tiff! Share with your baby sister?" Tiffany raised an eye brow as she poured the coffee.

"I thought you quit."

"Tiff!" Aelita turned her attention back to Ulrich.

"Is breakfast always like this?" Ulrich shrugged, taking a bite of his eggs.

"Usually." It vaguely reminded her of breakfasts as Kadic. Organized chaos. Only more compact now. She turned her attention back to her breakfast. Breakfast never tasted so good, but then she couldn't remember the last time she had a home cooked meal.

"So Aelita," Charlie started, now content with her coffee fix. "Do you do your hair yourself? I was thinking of going pink." Aelita blinked, toast half way to her mouth.

"My…hair?"

"Oh, really, Chare, pink? I mean, not that it doesn't look good on Aelita, but you just dyed the blue streaks," Tiffany argued.

"But look at the pink! I mean, that color is so much cooler than _blue_-"

"You don't even like pink," Ulrich pointed out. Charlie glared at him.

"How would you know? You haven't even been home in like, four years."

"I was home at Christmas."

"That makes it all better." Mr. Stern cleared his throat, glancing up at his children. They glared at each other before turning back to their breakfasts.

"It's natural," Aelita said quietly. Charlie quirked an eyebrow.

"Really? Natural? Wow, that's so interesting. Do you think it was a mutation in the genetic mak--"

"Shut up, Charlie. She's not a _mutant_," Ulrich growled protectively.

"I didn't say that! I said a genetic mutation. And obviously a really cool one. Maybe if you paid attention in science class instead of--"

"I pay attention!" Tiffany looked down at her watch while her other hand slipped on one her heels.

"I have to get to the court house. See you guys for dinner?" Mr. Stern folded his paper before standing up.

"See you at dinner. Have a good trial." He kissed the girl on the cheek before setting the paper down on the counter. Tiffany put on the other heel and waved.

"Thanks Dad. Bye guys!"

"Maybe you should get Yumi to tutor you."

"Oh hush." The twins continued to argue.

"Want me to tutor you? I mean, I know you have smart friends and all but I don't think it's rubbed off at all." Ulrich punched the girl in the arm and she punched him back twice as hard.

"Ouch!"

"Owww." Mrs. Stern shook her head.

"You'd never know she was so excited for him to get home yesterday," the woman said playfully. Aelita laughed, dropping her napkin onto her plate.

"Ulrich was excited to come home, too." Ulrich smiled at her.

"I know someone who was even more excited. She could hardly sit down on the train." Aelita blushed.

"You know I don't travel much." Mrs. Stern sighed.

"Alright you three. Can you behave yourself today? Charlie? Ulrich?" The two brunettes nodded, grins on their faces. "And the hospital won't call me? Or the police station?"

"Mom," Charlie whined. "We'll be good."

"Yeah," Ulrich defended. "We're not little kids."

"I'll watch them," Aelita assured her. "There's only just the two of them." Mrs. Stern laughed.

"That's what my mother said when they were born."

'_Twins are not the same person because they share the same genetics. If fact, they're such different individuals, you forget for a moment they have any resemblance.' _

* * *


	4. Of ATVs and Secret Coves

**Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Summer Report of Sorts.**

**_Of ATVs and Secret Coves: A Get Away_**

**_A/n: Updating? Who does that anymore? Don't kill me._**

**_Dedication: To Kitty. Because I say so._**

**_Disclaimer! Charlie Stern belongs to the wonderful Abdominals._**

**

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**

'_Ordinary is not ordinary for everyone.'_

Charlie bounded down the stairs of the Stern residence, towel clutched in one hand and a beach bag slung over her shoulder.

"Ulrich! Ulrich, Ulrich, Ulrich hurry!" she yelled. There was no response as she stuffed her towel into her bag. Aelita peered out from the guest room, sunglasses pushed up in her hair.

"Uhm, Charlie?" The Stern paused.

"Yes?"

"I know Ulrich said to wear tennis shoes…but I thought we were going swimming. Isn't it customary to wear sandals?" Charlie gave her a strange look pulling her hair up into a pony tail.

"Customary?" she questioned. Aelita blushed.

"Canada's cold. We don't swim much," she amended quickly.

"Oh, right… well, we're not walking to the cove. So you're going to need those shoes." Aelita ducked back into her room, smiling her thanks. The girl grabbed the beach bag Yumi had let her borrow from the bottom of her suitcase. It was black with red flowers. There was something written in blue stitching across both handles. She was fairly certain it was in Japanese.

A towel, a hair brush and sunscreen quickly filled the bag and she hauled it up over her shoulder, stepping into her tennis shoes before stopping in front of the door mirror to check her appearance.

Her pink bikini was covered by a purple t-shirt tied off over her left hip. The tennis shoes still looked strange to her.

"Princess? Are you ready?" The girl jumped, quickly gathering her cell phone and camera and stuffing them into the bag.

"Yes, I'm ready. Sorry, Ulrich." He grinned at her, his soccer bag hanging next to his hip.

"You'll need your sunglasses."

"Right!" Aelita scrambled to grab them off the nightstand where she had left them. "Now I'm ready." Her guardian smiled, leading the way down the stairs where Charlie was still waiting, impatiently tapping her foot, arms crossed over her chest.

"Well now that Ulrich's sure his makeup is perfect, can we go? It's practically noon!" Aelita laughed.

"I bet Odd is still asleep," she pointed out. Both of the Stern twin laughed.

"Let's go, let's go!" Charlie bounded out the front door, rounding the house with Ulrich and Aelita in tow.

It was easy to say she was surprised when Aelita heard the initial roar of an engine.

"What is that?" the girl asked. Ulrich grinned.

"Uhm, that's a four wheeler," he explained. Charlie revved the engine again before getting off the forest green vehicle.

"That's how we're getting to the cove?!" The girl was wide eyed as she watched Charlie strap her bag on to the back.

"That's how we're getting to the cove," Ulrich assured her. "It's a little like the overbike." He tugged on her elbow, pulling her towards the second four wheeler that had yet to be freed from the sky blue tarp protecting it. Charlie ran past him to the shed that stood up against the back of the house. When she emerged she had a black, a green and a red helmet balanced carefully in her arms.

"I don't suppose you go off roading much in Canada, huh?" She questioned Aelita over the sound of the second engine. The girl grinned.

"I get to go once in awhile." She shared the grin with Ulrich when he took the black and red helmets from his sister.

"Here, Princess. I'll secure our bags while you put this on, ok?" His charge smiled, handing over her bag before pulling the helmet over her head, sunglasses secured to her face now. Charlie pushed down her face shield, climbing onto her four wheeler.

"Want to race?" she asked. Ulrich glared.

"No, I don't want to race."

"I want to race!" Aelita interjected. Ulrich gave her a look of disbelief.

"We are not racing her, Lita." He reached over, fastening the strap under her chin.

"Please?" She batted her eyes. "Just like when we race Odd!" she exclaimed, climbing on behind him.

"Don't be a little girl, Ulrich!" Charlie yelled. "Aelita wants to race, I want to race, let's race!" Ulrich grinned, sliding his face shield down over.

"Loser makes lunch!" He tore out for the backyard towards the woods, spitting gravel at his sister.

"Hey! But you can't cook!" She took up after them. Aelita squealed, clinging tightly against Ulrich's back, looking back over her shoulder as Charlie gained on them.

"Hang on tight, Princess. It's a little different than Lyoko." Ulrich revved the engine, lurching them forward as he dodged the first line of trees. She clung tighter to her guardian, all the while wishing she could reach her camera to capture the moment. Charlie let out a yell, swerving around them and they had to slow down to keep from hitting her back wheel. "Careful!" her brother yelled after her. She ignored him, crashing through a puddle.

"Go!" Aelita yelled over his shoulder. "We can catch her!" Ulrich sped up, dodging to the left of a tree. "Go! Go!" the girl cheered, bending her knees to absorb the shock. The cut Charlie off, spitting dirt over the front end of her four wheeler.

"Hey!" she protested, ramming their back end. Ulrich pulled away from her as they entered the clearing.

"You lose!" He yelled back at his sister.

'_Just because someone claims it is 'just like an overbike!' does not mean it is anything like an over bike.'_

Charlie scowled. "What, they have a four wheel team at Kadic, too? Have you been practicing?" Ulrich shrugged, pulling his helmet off. Aelita followed suit, grinning widely.

"That was fun!" Ulrich nodded towards the cove that Aelita was too excited to even noticed.

"That wasn't even the fun part," he informed her. The green eyed girl froze, mouth slightly agape.

"Wow! That's beautiful!" She scrambled off the vehicle, immediately searching for her camera in the bag that was still secured.

"You have enough picture of the scenery," Ulrich laughed. "I'll take your picture. I'm sure Jer will be much more interested in that."

"Owww, her boyfriend?" Charlie teased, unhooking her bag.

"Chare," Ulrich scolded. His twin grinned wider, running off towards the water, kicking off her shoes on the way. "Psycho," he muttered under his breath.

"She's nice," Aelita told him, tugging her helmet. Her t-shirt and sunglasses were soon to follow. She folded the shirt neatly and set it on the four wheeler. Before digging her camera out.

"Or something," Ulrich teased, taking her camera. "Smile." He snapped a picture before she could look up and a second when she was grinning, hands on her hips.

"Ulrich!" she laughed. "Take a picture of the cove. It's beautiful." She slid out of her shoes and ran towards the water. Ulrich rolled his eyes taking a picture of her and the cove. Charlie could be seen in the background, mid jumping into the water.


	5. Of Weddings and Webcams

**Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Summer Report of Sorts.**

**_Of Weddings and Webcams: Connecting and Reconnecting_**

**_A/n: Tada! The name of the game is motivation. I believe this earns me a red. If you'd like to keep up with mine and KittyClaws latest game check out bandsforbrillance DOT blogspot DOT com. Dedicated to Kitty, as per usual, and John for getting his proof. We're proud of you!_**

**_Disclaimer! Charlie Stern belongs to the wonderful Abdominals. She's better than you._**

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"_U_lrich?" Aelita knocked on her guardian's bedroom door hesitantly, fidgeting with the hem of her dress.

"Door's open!" Ulrich called out to her. She nudged it open.

"Does this look okay?" she asked. Ulrich had one foot up on his bed frame, tying a pair of black dress shoes. The sleeves of his white button down were rolled up to his elbows. "I mean, I know it really doesn't matter. It's all about your sister, I just don't want to look…" she trailed off, completely uncomfortable in the formal dress attire.

"You look great," the brunette assured her with a smile. "Just wait until Jeremie sees you. He'll go wild." The girl turned a shade of pink to rival her dress.

"Ulrich, don't tease." She sighed, but she went back to the guest room to get her camera. The dress flowed behind her gently as she walked, fluttering out gracefully in the front at her knees and tapering down the sides of her legs to end in the back at her calves. She set her hands on her hips where the drop waistband was gathered and she could feel the light embroidering down the sides and she glanced around her room for the last place she had her camera.

She had already almost filled the first memory card Jeremie had given her for her trip.

"Aelita? The webcam is set up!" Ulrich called from down the hall.

"Just a second!" she answered back, quickly crossing the room that was temporarily hers to rummage through her bag. It was hard to bed over due to the boning that ran up both the front and the back of the dress, but after little difficulty she pulled the little camera free from one of the inside pockets. "Here we go," she murmured to herself. She tugged up the dress by it's sweetheart neckline, giving herself one last glance in the mirror before hurrying back down the hall to Ulrich's room.

"Here she is," Ulrich said to his computer screen. The girl's heart pounded excitedly.

"Is that everyone?" she asked, quickly moving to his desk.

There was chorus of hellos from the computer.

"Hello!" Aelita laughed, perching herself on the arm of Ulrich's chair. Three faces smiled back at her.

"Well don't you two clean up nicely?" Odd teased. The room behind him was dark and Aelita was fairly certain the bubbly blonde was already in bed.

"We're going to a wedding," Aelita announced proudly. She stood up and twirled in her dress and it fanned out around her. There was a collective murmur of approval, mostly from Yumi, and one cat call from Odd that was met with a glare from Jeremie.

"So who's getting married?" Yumi asked. Aelita planted herself back down at Ulrich's side.

"My sister," he answered. "Tiffany. I think I've told you about her, Yumes."

"I didn't know you had a sister," Jeremie said, pushing his glasses up. Odd grinned even larger.

"I did! He has _two_ sisters. And you know, the hot one is still single if you're interested, Jer." Even through the computer the gang could see the color rising in his cheeks.

"Ew, Odd." Ulrich scowled at the boy. "She's my _twin._ That's disgusting." There was a loud '_whack!'_ and Ulrich's head jerked forward.

"Excuse you." Aelita glanced over her shoulder at the girl in the mint green dress similar to her own.

"Hi Charlie. We're just saying hello to everyone before we leave." Ulrich glared at his sister, but she merely shoved his head out of the way to stick her face down in the camera's view, curls bouncing around her face.

"Hey, everyone. Odd shouldn't you be in bed? It's like midnight. Way past your bed time." Odd stuck his tongue out.

"Nice to see you, too, Chare. Taking good care of our princess?" Yumi and Jeremie waved, ignoring their rambunctious friend.

"She's just fine, Odd. I even took her out to find dresses. I was going to send her with Ulrich but, you know, the boy has no fashion sense. She'd come home in velvet or something." Aelita laughed, patting Ulrich on the shoulder.

"But look, Charlie! He dressed himself and he looks so handsome!" Ulrich turned redder than Jeremie.

"Alright you two, jokes over."

"You do look good though," Yumi assured him seriously.

"Do you want us to leave you love birds alone?" Odd asked, waggling his eyebrows. "I mean, you haven't saw each other in a whole week. I know it's hard on you."

"Seen," Jeremie corrected.

"What?" Odd asked.

"Seen. As in, 'You haven't seen each other in a whole week.'."

"I know what I said."

"But you said it wrong."

"Well, who asked you, Einstein?" Yumi sighed, resting her chin in her palm.

"Two continents away and they're still going at it." Ulrich gave her a apologetic smile.

"Oh my gosh!" Charlie explained. "That's Yumi right? The girl you're totally in love with? Hi, Yumi! Hi! Ulrich talks about you all the time!" Ulrich shoved the girl with his full strength backwards.

"Charlie! Must you?" he demanded. Yumi slowly covered her face, moving just left of the camera. "This is why I never bring you around my friends!"

"Oh, shut up! You never bring me around your friends because they're sixty thousand miles away in France."

"Is that an exact number?" Ulrich asked sarcastically.

"I will give you the exact number of my high-heeled shoe up your-"

"Guys!" Aelita laughed. "Tiffany said no black eyes for her wedding photos, okay?"

'_Sometimes a healthy fear of an older sibling is, well, healthy.' _

Ulrich turned back to his computer, snubbing his sister. "Yumi, I'm so- Yumi? Where did you go?"

"I'm still here," she muttered miserably.

"I can't even begin to apologize for my sister. She was born second. She didn't get enough oxygen to her brain."

"Hey!" Charlie protested.

"It's a fact, ask Jeremie," Ulrich defended.

"Don't get me involved," Jeremie answered, holding up his hands in his own defense.

"Yeah, yeah," Charlie said dismissively, straightening her dress. "We have to go soon, lover boy. It's not acceptable for the Maid of Honor to be late. Besides, the quicker we get there, the sooner I'm out of this dress." She tugged at the material for emphasis.

Aelita fussed over her like she had all morning and the night previous. "No! You look so pretty!"

"Yeah, Chare. _Pretty_." He gave her a wolfish grin.

"Keep it up, Odd. You have to sleep across from me in September."

"Oh, come off it. I was teasing her." Yumi shook her head at her friends.

"You both look beautiful. I'm sure you'll be taking all the attention away from the bride," she assured them. Ulrich gave her a hurt look. "I already told you that you look nice."

"But not beautiful," Odd snickered. Aelita wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Well I think you look beautiful, Ulrich." The boy laughed.

"Thanks, Lita. I can see who has the best taste in this group."

"Or who needs their eyes checked," Charlie corrected. Ulrich didn't even blink at the insult.

"So nice to be home," he told his friends. The group laughed. "Well, we have a wedding to get to, but we miss you guys." Aelita smiled, nodding in agreement.

"I can't wait to come visit you all soon!"

"I'll talk to you later. Good night, Yumi. Go to bed, Odd," Ulrich laughed. "And Jer, have a nice lunch." The blonde nodded his thanks.

"Bye!" Aelita said cheerfully. "Jer, I'll make sure to send pictures from the wedding in the morning!" He laughed.

"I already had to export the ones you sent me to an external hard drive," he teased.

"Why?" Odd asked, waggling his eyebrows again. "Because they're dirty?" Jeremie stared.

"No, Odd. Because she sent, like, over two-thousand." Odd teetered uncomfortably.

"Oh…well… Bye Aelita! Bye Charlie! Bye Ulrich!" The brunette rolled his eyes and shut off the camera, leaving Jeremie and Yumi to deal with the hyperactive blonde.

"Are you girls ready to go?"

'_Maids of Honor can't be late to the wedding. Only brides can be late to weddings.' _


	6. Of Timezones and Planes

**Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Summer Report of Sorts.**

**_Of Timezones and Planes_**

**A/n: I know I've fallen far, far behind on this one guys. However, I've got this thing called college life going on, so you'll have to forgive me. Enjoy, and be looking out for the next installment. Thanks as always! **

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'_Packing a suitcase is easier the second time around.'_

"That's all your laundry," Ulrich told her, her pink dress from the wedding draped over his arm. "But you might want to check Charlie's room before we leave- I saw her eyeing those lime green shorts you were wearing the afternoon we went hiking." Aelita laughed.

"They're still here," she assured him. She shook any remaining wrinkles out of the dress, almost sad it would have to be put into a suitcase. "I just printed out my tickets." Ulrich glanced at the paper, picking up the bouquet of fake roses from the dresser.

"And don't forget this," he told her. Her eyes lit up when she took it from him, carefully situating it in her bag.

"Of course!" She zipped the bag shut.

"What did Jeremie say when you told him about the wedding?" Ulrich sat on the edge of her bed, watching the girl bustle around to make sure she had everything she needed for her trip to New Zealand.

"He was confused when I told him I was getting married." She laughed at the notion of Jeremie not knowing something. Ulrich only smiled, not correcting her at all.

"Yeah? Did he say anything?"

"He said not to get married before I get home."

"I can see where he might not be too fond of the idea," her guardian teased her. Aelita ignored him, but there a smile plastered on her face. "Are you all ready to go?" She nodded.

"Is your dad taking us to the airport?" The car horn from the driveway was her answer.

"Let's go, Princess." He picked up her bags and slung them over his shoulder. She headed out into the hall.

"Lita!" Charlie launched herself on the unsuspecting girl, arms wrapped around her tightly. "I'm going to miss you! You'll come back and visit right?" Aelita, slightly strangled, nodded.

"You could come see us, too, you know," Ulrich told her, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Shut up, Ulrich."

"You shut up. And let go of Aelita's throat. Her face is starting to match her hair." Charlie loosened her grip.

"It was very nice too meet you, Charlie. I had a wonderful time with you and your family."

"You're off to see Odd next right? You'll tell him I said hey? Give him a hug for me?" The younger girl nodded. Charlie gave her one last hug before hauling her duffle bag up over he shoulder.

"Gymnastics?"

"Otherwise I'd be going with you the airport."

'_Airports are crowded organized chaos. Not the same as trains, but also not too much different.'_

"Have a safe trip okay?" Ulrich smiled, unloading the girls bags next to the ticket counter. She watched them be tagged curiously for a second before turning and launching herself into his arms.

"I will. Thank you for having me, Ulrich. I had a wonderful time."

"Glad to you have you. Be safe in New Zealand okay?" She nodded and he kissed her forehead. "I mean it. No cliff diving, or exploring unstable caves, or eating anything Odd cooks."

"You have my word." She smiled brightly.

"I better." He handed her a small box wrapped in orange and pink paper. "You can open it on the plane."

"What?" Aelita whine a little and he turned, waving.

"Safe trip, Princess."

"Bye, Ulrich!"

'_Airport security is intense.'_

The flight was long. They passed through so many time zones that Aelita eventually fell asleep and lost count. Time seemed to be relative on vacation, though.

The first few hours of the flight she spent glued to her window, just watching. Flight was thrilling and terrifying and she wished that Ulrich was still along for the ride so there was someone to listen to her excitement. The was no such luck on the near empty flight. The flight attendants were nice enough though, and they seemed to understand that it was her first time on an airplane and were especially, well, attentive of her and overly nice to the young girl traveling by herself to an entirely different continent.

She landed in New Zealand in what she expected to be early afternoon, but was surprised to see her cell phone display, which Jeremie told her to reset earlier that day, read four in the morning. She tried to count back the time zones to Freance but she figured it was probably still afternoon and dialed anyway.

"Hey, princess."

"Oh.. Ulrich."

"Oh yourself."

"I was trying to get a hold of Jeremie." Ulrich chuckled.

"I'm a little taller." The girl smiled, hauling her carryon higher on her shoulder.

"Be nice to me! It's four in the morning." She followed the few other passengers off the plane and down the gangway into the airport.

"So you've landed then?"

"Nope, they dropped me off halfway," she teased.

"Not a good joke to tell our buddy there, Lita." She knew he was probably only joking, but he was also probably right.

"Safe and sound on the ground, Ulrich." She started looking for the signs that would read "Baggage Claim" but when she couldn't find them se decided to just follow her plane-mates instead. "But I want to call Jer and let him know I'm okay, too."

"I'll talk to you later. I think Odd demanded webcams tomorrow."

"Perfect, bye Ulrich!" She hung up when he echoed her goodbye and dialed Jeremie, this time making sure the correct number came up. He answered after only one ring.

"Hello?" She smiled brightly as she reached the carousal, spotting her bags easily in the sea of black and navy.

"Hello, Jeremie."

"Aelita! Hi! How are you? I mean, uh, have you landed in New Zealand yet?" She picked her bag and it thumped by her feet.

"We just did, actually."

"Oh… I mean, that's great! How was everything?"

"Well, I have yet to spot Odd-"

"Aelita! Princess! Princess! Princess!" Aelita looked up to see the blonde barreling towards her.

"Spoke too soon. I'll have to talk to later, okay? I'll email you in the morning?"

"Uhm, sure. You'll keep sending pictures?"

"Of course!" Odd was lass than a step away. "Odd's gonna grab me, gotta go! Miss you!" She hung up in time to tackled.

"Princess!" Odd yelled, dragging it out dramatically. "I missed your lovely, lovely face. Welcome to New Zealand." She hugged him back burying her face into his shoulder as he spun her around.

"Hi, Odd," she laughed. He set her back onto her feet. "I missed you too."

"How was the wedding? Have you talked to Jer? Are you ready for beaches and sunshine?" The excited boy shook her by her shoulders teasingly.

"It was wonderful, yes and yes, yes, yes!" He took her bags for her, digging in his pocket from something.

"Well, that will be in the morning, but right now the entire house is asleep."

"I'm not even tired," she lied. He produced a set of keys.

"The circles under your eyes are just makeup right?" The joke was completely lost on her.

"Are you going to drive us home?" She asked. He grinned.

"Your chariot awaits princess."

_Jeeps are awesome._


	7. Of Lifevests and Pancakes

**Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Summer Report of Sorts.**

**_Of Life-vests and Pancakes _**

**A/n: I only get things done when Kittyclaw makes them a competition. Here we go! **

* * *

_Odd had Aelia__'s bags slung over his shoulders as the two made their way through the parking lot, only lit by the butter-yellow overhead lights the lined the rows. Aelita trudged after him, yawning._

"_What's this?" the blonde asked as he tossed her suitcase into the back of the open-top jeep. He plucked the present free from where it was peeking out of her carryon. _

"_Oh! I forgot all about that. It's from Ulrich." She took it from his hands as he opened her door for her, motioning for her to get in. _

"_Well, open it!" She chuckled, climbing up in to the passenger seat and buckling up as she waited for Odd to do the same._

"_If he asks I opened it on the plane." Odd only shrugged, starting the car as Aelita pulled apart the paper. "Aww!" The girl laughed, producing three bars of dark chocolate. _

"_Now there's a present," Odd teased. He put the car and gear and headed for home. Aelita nodded, slipping them into her bag._

"_I can't wait to get back to your house, Odd. I'm so tired." The blonde boy couldn't stifle his own yawn._

"_We're a little pressed for space with everyone being home for the summer. I hope you don't mind bunking with me. I set up a cot for myself."_

"_That's fine with me."_

'_At four in the morning, any bed is a good bed.'_

"Shh, you're going to wake her up."

"Is she dead? She looks dead."

"Annabelle, she's not dead. She's just asleep. Don't say that stuff, you'll scare Sophia."

"Not scared!"

"Shh!"

"She's really pretty, Lizzie." Aelita peeked open one eye at the mess of blonde hair at the end of Odd's bed.

"Annabelle," the one in the middle hissed. "See? You woke her up." Aelita sat up sharply, wide-eyed.

"Uhm… hi there."

"Are you Aelita?" the smallest one asked. Aelita could only nod as she crawled into bed.

"Hi, Aelita! I'm Sophia," she introduced, sitting on her knees in front of the surprised girl.

"Oh, hello Sophia."

"Soph, Lizzie, Anna, did you girls wake my friend up?" All eyes turned to the doorway.

"Oddy!" Sophia squealed, hopping down off the bed to wrap her arms around the boy's waist. Aelita got her first good lock at all three and a half feet of the little girl. Odd laughed.

"Aelita, these are the youngest Della Robbia's. This is Sophia," he ran his fingers through her long blonde hair. "That's Annabelle in the blue and Elizabeth with the traces of too much eye liner." Elizabeth glared at her brother.

"It looks good before I fall asleep with it on."

"Elizabeth is twelve, practically a teenager," Odd teased. Sophia giggled. "Come on girls, why don't you help mom and Marie with breakfast, okay? Let Aelita wake up." The three sisters scattered out of the room.

"How did I end up in your bed again?" Aelita asked, head tilted to the side. Odd laughed.

"If I had a dime for every time I heard-" There was a clamoring in the hallway and Aelita dropped back against the pillows.

"What time is it?"

"It's a little after ten."

"I don't feel like I slept six hours."

"You did." There was a clicking sound and then a flash. Odd giggled.

"Did…you just…?" Aelita opened her eyes to find Odd with her camera. "Odd!" she laughed.

"Oh, come on, Lita. Just come get some breakfast." Her stomach growled in response. "See? It's totally breakfast time, Princess."

"Alright, just let me get dressed," she said, stretching her arms over her head.

"Completely unnecessary. Breakfast isn't a formal affair in chez Della Robbia." Aelita thought about Tiffany in her heels at the Stern breakfast table, everyone getting ready to go out and start their day. "Come on," Odd insisted, tugging the girl out of bed. "You still have to meet Marie and Beth. And mom and dad of course." Aelita smiled at her slightly crazy friend and unzipped her carry on bag that had been haphazardly flung onto Odd's circular desk chair at some point when the two of them had arrived in the early morning hours.

"Oh, Odd. That's fine, but before you drag me off on any adventures I'm going to need a shower."

The smells coming out of the Della Robbia kitchen were unlike anything she had ever smelled before. Even better than at Ulrich's, and she didn't think that was possible. It left her mouth watering and her stomach growled in hungry approval. Breakfast promised to be an event unlike any that she had at Kadic or like the mostly controlled chaos of the Sterns'. And if the racket in the kitchen was anything to go by, she figured there wouldn't be any need for coffee to wake her up.

"Sophia! Down off the counter!"

"I'm helping!"

"You're not helping, you're eating raw pancake batter."

"It's yummy!"

"It's unhealthy."

"You're un-helf-fy." When she got to the doorway of the massive kitchen, Aelita was greeted with and the sight of pots and pans everywhere, and a mass of Della Robbia women talking, laughing and fighting. The eldest of the group, who Aelita assumed to be Odd's mother, caught sight of the girl.

"Aelita! Welcome darling!" She floated around the counter, shooing Annabelle to the side as the girl attempted to stay underfoot. "What time did you get in last night? I never even heard Odd leave!" Aelita smiled bashfully. Clearly the enthusiasm was genetic.

"Good morning," she answered shyly. "We got in very early. We tried to be quiet." The woman laughed, sweeping her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Such a dear. I'm Delilah, Odd's mother. From the chatter I've heard all morning about your gorgeous pink hair it's safe to assume you've met my youngest." Aelita nodded, blushing brightly as she moved further into the kitchen. "This is Marie, my eldest," the only brunette in the room gave her a cheerful smile before batting Sophia's hands away again. "And Adele is… Elizabeth? Have you seen Adele?" She shrugged, and Aelita noted she had fresh eyeliner on since she had seen her earlier that morning. "Well I have another child and she's probably trying to sleep in."

"And daddy!" Sophia trilled.

"Yes, and Jack. He went to get milk."

"Thank you very much for having me."

"Oh, it's no problem dear. Odd told us about how your parents are on leave working for Canada's government. Personally, we think it's wonderful that they're giving you the opportunity to go away to school after all those years of home schooling by government tutors." Aelita cast an incredulous look over her shoulder as she heard Odd making his way down the hall towards them.

"Right. My parents. Yes, sometimes it seems like years between times I hear from them."

"Oh, you poor darling! You're welcome here anytime!" Odd appeared with a deer-in-the-headlights gaze at her.

"Mom," he whined. "I told you talking about it makes her uncomfortable!" Delilah covered her mouth dramatically.

"I'm so sorry dear."

"It's quite alright," Aelita assured her, but she dug her elbow into Odd's side.

"Hello to you too," Marie said from the stove. The blonde bounded over to the girl immediately, hugging her around the waist, ignoring Aelita's prodding all together.

"Marie!" he yelled enthusiastically. "I've missed you so! My moon! My sun! My breath of cool air in the driest desert! How did I live? And what did you do to your hair?" She peeled him off her.

"It's called hair dye. I'm sure you're familiar." She flicked at his patch of purple.

"Yeah we're old friends."

"Oddy? Are you home?" Aelita's attention turned back to the hallway as a lithe girl made her way into the kitchen. Odd ran, scooping her up into a bear hug.

"Adele!" They both giggled, clinging to each other. "Aelita this is Adele, my favorite sister." The others yelled in protest, sticking their tongues out and causing a general ruckus over Odd's choice of 'favorite'. Adele laughed, hugging Odd back tightly.

"They're just jealous because we're the beautiful ones, Oddy." Her brother nodded in agreement. From the look of the two, Aelita guessed they were close in age. Delilah rolled her eyes, moving back to the stove to check on the bacon.

"They're also our dramatic ones," she murmured to no one in particular. The pair ignored their mother as Aelita made her way over to the raised counter, making herself comfortable on one of the stools.

"Oddy, what are we doing today? We should go to the cliffs! Or windsurfing! Does Aelita- Aelita do you windsurf?" Aelita shook her head, still unsure what windsurfing was and what it had to do with cliffs. "We could totally teach you. It's so awesome!" Odd slung his arm around the girl's shoulders.

"After breakfast we'll go down to the cliffs. Marie are you in on this?" Marie gave him a sideways glance.

"Last time I went to the cliffs with you I fractured my spine."

"You did not!"

"Okay it was my tailbone. But still. No thanks." Aelita paled.

"Maybe we shouldn't-"

"Elizabeth? Annabelle?" The girls nodded, Annabelle setting the table faster. Sophia pouted, her hands on her tiny hips.

"Me!" she yelled. Odd grinned.

"You?" Delilah looked skeptical.

"Can you two keep an eye on her if she goes with you?" Adele nodded, scooping the tiniest Della Robbia off the floor.

"Yeah, Mom. She'll be okay."

"Take her vest."

"No vest!" Sophia protested. "That's for babies!" Odd stole her from their sister's arms.

"Babies? What? No way, Soph. Vest or no go." She pouted even more, kicking her feet.

"Cliiiiiifffffffffsssssss!" she screeched. Aelita could only stare as the temper tantrum unfolded in front of her. "No vest! I wanna go! I'm big!" Sophia drew out every word and most of the Della Robbia's ignored her.

"Sophia Grace," a strong voice barked. The kitchen got quiet and all eyes turned to the door to the kitchen that led out into the yard.

"Daddy," Sophia squeaked.

"Why are you fitting?"

"Cliffs?"

"She doesn't want to wear her vest," Odd told the towering blonde man. He set the bags in his arms on the counter.

"You'll wear the vest or you won't go," the man said flatly. Sophia sighed, dropping out of Odd's arms and trudging out of the kitchen deflated.

"I guess that means she'll wear it," Adele teased.

"Welcome back, Jack," Delilah teased, kissing the man's cheek. "This is Aelita, our guest." Jack's face broke out into a very familiar grin.

"Welcome, young lady. Can you swim? Or do we need to get you a vest down, too?" Aelita smiled nervously.

"Oh, uhm, no. I mean yes. I mean, I swim good- well. I'm a good swimmer." Jack laughed, as Odd launched himself into another bear hug, wrestling his father into a competition to see who could 'hug' the other more dominantly.

"Pops! What's happening?" Jack bumped the two of them into the counter.

"My son! My only son!" he cried teasingly.

"Let's eat!" Marie interrupted. The chaos that ensued reminded Aelita of pizza day at Kadic.

'_No two families are even remotely the same.'_


	8. Of Cliffs and Safety

**Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Summer Report of Sorts.**

**_Of Cliffs and Safety_**

**A/n: See? Competitive.**

* * *

_A_elita took a brush to her wet locks, trying to manage them out of her eyes as her laptop hummed to life on Odd's surprisingly clean, paint-splotched desk. Her legs were tucked up under her in the overstuffed spinny chair as she waited for the light on the built-in camera to engage.

"Lita? Can you hear me?" There was a little bit of background noise before one bespectacled blonde appeared on the screen.

"Nope." Jeremie frowned, and Aelita could hear him tapping away at his keyboard.

"How about now?" Aelita stifled giggles as she shook her head.

"Still can't hear you."

"Hmm." Jeremie frowned at his computer. He eyed the screen for a moment before realization dawned on him, and he scowled playfully at Aelita. She laughed brightly as he pulled a face. "Haha, you little trickster."

"I'm sorry, Jer! I miss you, how are you?" she asked, stretching her legs out in front of her under the desk.

"I miss you, too! I mean, I'm well. I'm just a little lonely. Yumi's been busy packing and it's been rather quiet without you three." Aelita fiddled with the tie of her white bikini, straightening it under her pink tank.

"Right, she should be getting ready to leave for Japan soon, right? Have you seen much of each other?" Jer nodded.

"We usually grab at least one meal together. We've had to band together," he teased lightly. Aelita laughed brightly.

"Have you been getting all my pictures? I was just uploading the batch from the ride home this morning. You would not believe Odd's family either."

"Do they all have purple hair?" Jeremie quipped.

"No, but he has all these sisters and they're so… Odd-like. We're going swimming today and someone said something about windsurfing. What's windsurfing?" She rested her chin the palm of her hands. The Einstein of the group grinned, having missed explaining things to the girl since she had acclimated to life at Kadic.

"It's using the energy of the wind against the a sail to propel a surfboard forward, bilaterally according the direction of the-"

"Princess!" Odd hollered from the hallway.

"Your room!" she answered back, dropping her brush back into her bag, rooting around for the tube of sunscreen she had brought.

"What are you stil-oh! Hey, Jer!" Odd popping his face in the way of the screen, grin plastered on his face.

"Hey, Odd," Jeremie sighed good heartedly. "Glad to be home?" The older boy nodded. "Very! Missing our favorite brainiac though, aren't we Lita?" The pair blushed.

"Yep!" Aelita squeaked.

"I hate to ruin the love fest, Jer, really, but I'm taking Aelita down to the cliffs with the girls to go swimming." Jeremie cocked an eyebrow at the idea.

"I'm sorry, what?" Aelita tilted her head thoughtfully at Odd who was still laughing at Jeremie.

"We love you," he sung, and before Jeremie could protest he closed the laptop. "Ready, Princess?"

_'There's nothing like a view.'_

"Cliffs!" Sophia squealed. She fought against the restraints of her booster seat in the back of Odd's jeep.

"Yeah, Soph. Just give me a second." Adele's jeep pulled up behind his, spitting gravel as the girls screamed along with the radio. Even Elizabeth was smiling behind her oversized sunglasses and they skidded to a stop. Odd busied himself with un-strapping the youngest from her seat as Aelita looked out over the drop-off.

"These are the cliffs?" she asked in a small voice.

"Yep!" Odd chirped.

"Oh." Sophia was practically shaking in excitement. Aelita didn't know how she felt about the height but the view was stunning.

Adele was going over rules, and she realized she should be listening, she always followed the rules, but she was up on her toes, looking out over the water.

"No jumping until the other one comes up, no pretending to drown, you will not stick dive. You will not jump head first. You will not take your life vest off if your name is Sophia Marie." Sophia whined.

"Odd? How do we get down to the water?" Aelita asked. Odd pulled his shirt off over his head.

"We jump," he said easily. Aelita gave him a look of disbelief.

"Odd, I highly doubt jumping off an actual cliff is anywhere near Yumi's definition of safe," she told her guardian. "And she said that if I thought anything wasn't safe I should-"

"Wheeeee!" Sophia went running past her towards the edge and without a second thought the little girl propelled herself over the edge, screaming as she plummeted towards the water. A horrified scream erupted from Aelita as she grabbed helplessly in the direction the girl had run. The rest of the Della Robbia girls froze, but Odd, wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from collapsing.

"Sophia!"

"She's fine! She's okay! Lita! Princess!" But the girl was shaking now. Adele started laughing before flinging her sunglasses onto her dashboard.

"So, I take it you didn't tell her that was the point of going to the cliffs." Aelita blinked. From the bottom of the cliff there were shouts of excitement, and Elizabeth and Annabelle giggled, running to the edge to wave at a very much alive and well Sophia.

"Odd!" she protested. "You should have told me!"

"I did!" he argued. "We're really jumping. It's safe!" Annabelle looked back over at her siblings.

"Uhm?"

"Readysetgo!" Odd screamed, "Adele can we go?" The older girl waved them ahead. Odd chuckled.

"They've grown up so much." Adele nodded, giving Kiwi a pet before heading toward the cliff herself. The dog barked after her from the back seat, paws up on the side of door. Aelita slipped off her flip-flops, trying not to be too bothered by the idea that they were about to do the exact opposite of safe. "Come on, Aelita. This is fun, I know you'll like it." Odd linked his arm through hers, pulling her playfully toward the ledge as Elizabeth pushed off, screaming out loudly.

"Oh, uhm, alright." She took a deep breath and reminded herself that she had never actually been hurt by one of Odd's ideas and watched as Adele went out over the edge. There were cheers from her sisters below and Odd chuckled.

"Ready?" He grabbed her hand, crouched and ready to jump. Aelita fiddled with the tie on her bikini bottom.

"Uhm, you know I'm not sure..."

"Readysetgo!" he yelled, pulling her over the edge. Aelita screamed. It was a long way down and for a brief second she thought she might die, but as soon as she hit the water, and Odd started propelling them towards the surface, Aelita suddenly was laughing. When she hit the surfing she choked on water from all the laughing she was doing.

"Odd, that was awesome!" she yelled. The blonde flipped his hair out of his face, letting her go so they could swim clear of landing and towards where Elizabeth and Annabelle were dunking each other.

"Told you!"

"Oh goodness! So exhilarating! Jer will never believe-I jumped off a cliff! Odd, we jumped off a cliff!"

"Again!" they heard, and Aelita attention turned abruptly to the sky just in time to see Sophia come crashing into the waves, splashing them as her life vest pulled her back to the surface like a tiny buoy. Odd laughed, opening his arms as the little girl swam into his arms.

"Good job, Soph!" he cheered and Aelita could only giggle as she treaded water, watching Odd interact with his youngest sister.

"You too?" Sophia asked over her shoulder at Aelita, chin bumping against her bulky vest. The girl laughed.

"I think me too!" And she let the little girl drag her back towards the shore for round two.


	9. Of Romeos and Little Girls

**Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Report of Sorts**

_**Of Romeos and Little Girls**_

_**A/n: I'm alive. Challenge presented, Kitty!**_

* * *

_A_dele came in the door first that night, Sophia cradled against her chest, the little girl's vest dangling from her bottom hand. Elizabeth and Annabelle scooted in around her, carrying the empty coolers and towels through the kitchen. Delilah cooed.

"Poor dear is out cold!" Adele motioned behind her with her head as Odd came in the door, Aelita scooped up into his arms.

"This one too," Odd chuckled quietly. Delilah took the vest from Adele, humming.

"Oh, those poor dears must be absolutely exhausted."

"I'm going to go put her in bed," Adele whispered. "Sophia Marie had a long, long day." Odd followed after her. When he reached his room he tugged the blankets free carefully, trying to balance her lithe frame against one arm and his chest. Finally, after much struggling with the blankets, he slipped the girl onto the bed, just in time for her laptop to start beeping. "Romeo's calling," he whispered to her sleeping form, flipping open the top.

"Hey Ael- Uhm."

"Hello to you too, Einstein," Odd greeted.

"Is she asleep?" Her guardian turned the laptop back on himself, walking out of the room.

"No, she's dead."

"Well, she could be! You took her cliff diving? Do you know how dangerous that is? She could have been hurt! Or killed! She'd survive Lyoko and Xana and that virus only to die because her so called friend pushed her off a cliff!"

"Calm your spazz, braniac. She's not hurt. Maybe a little sunburn…" Jeremie scoffed. "She's really okay," Odd stressed as he headed back to the kitchen with the pink laptop.

"Did she have fun?" Jeremie asked reluctantly.

"A total blast." The younger boy smiled despite himself.

"Good."

"Is that Jeremie? Hello! Hello Jeremie!" Delilah stuck her face over Odd's shoulder. "It's so nice to see you!"

"Oh, uhhh, hey Mrs. Della Robbia. How are you?"

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Oh, your girlfriend, Jeremie, so precious! Odd brought her home asleep!"

"She's-"

"Yeah, Jer. Precious." Delilah gave the boy a final wave before skirting off out of the kitchen, humming to herself.

"I'll kill you," Jeremie said calmly. "I can hide your body on Lyoko. No one would know."

"Hurtful," Odd declared, making himself comfortable at the kitchen table. "So how the hell are you, Jer?" The blonde shrugged.

"Alright, I guess. Getting some of my honors summer course work done." Odd made a face, retracting away from the pink laptop.

"That sounds awful." Jeremie chuckled.

"It's not that bad."

"Are you missing our princess?" Odd asked.

"Well, uh, of course. Of course I am, I uh, I just…why? Does she miss me? Did she say anything?" His face turned a significant shade of red and his eyed darted around the room nervously. "Maybe she should come home. Er, back. She should come back to France." The icon at the bottom of the screen blinked and it was only a few seconds later that Ulrich's video feed went live next to Jeremie's.

"Hey gu-Aelita. You got hideous!" Ulrich teased. Odd ran his fingers through his hair girlishly.

"Thanks it's my new moisturizer."

"Odd took Aelita cliff diving," Jeremie told Ulrich plainly. The brunette glared.

"Odd, you better hope Yumi doesn't find out. She will kill you."

"Two death threats in one day, maybe I better stay home for school this year!" Odd laughed. Jeremie rolled his eyes.

"Where is our princess?" Ulrich asked, propping his head up on the heel of his hand.

"Asleep," the blondes answered together. Ulrich smiled.

"Well, I'm glad she's having a good time at least," he joked. "I know Yumi can't wait to see her, it's all she's been talking about."

"I bet," Odd mocked.

"What does that mean?"

"Well, I'm sure it's not all she's talking about. Come on, Romeo. Details." Ulrich scowled.

"We shouldn't be talking about this. We should be talking about Jeremie's plans for when he and Aelita have the entire country of France to themselves for two weeks." Jeremie turned even redder.

"Why do we have to talk about that?" he whined.

"Because it upsets you so," Odd pointed out. "Seriously though, are your parents like super pumped?"

"Super," Jeremie said sarcastically.

"Are you going to take her out on dates?"

"Will there be wooing?"

"Is she going to sleep in your bed?"

"Enough you two." Odd batted his eyes and Ulrich made a little kissy face at the genius.

"We better come back to an Einstein romance made in heaven, is all I'm saying," Odd finally said.

"Aelita and I are fine. Our private lives are private." The boys snickered.

"Do you hear that Ulrich? Private."

"Scandal."

"Guys!" Jeremie yelled.

"Sorry, Jer," Ulrich sighed. "We're just having a little fun. And honestly I'm jealous. You're counting down the days until she gets home…"

"And Ulrich is kissing his Yumi filled time zone goodbye," Odd finished. Ulrich looked a little guilty but never argued.

"Alright, you guys. I'm supposed to help Adele prank Marie later and there's lots of work to be done for that." Jeremie rolled his eyes but Ulrich looked the slightest bit interested.

"Yeah? Tell me about it later?"

"You know it."

"Bye Odd," Jeremie said dryly.

"Later Odd. Take care of our girl." Odd beamed, waving.

"Always! Night guys."

'_Friends come in small packages sometimes.'_

Aelita found that in the span of her stay at the Della Robbia's house that she had connected with just about all of the Della Robbias, yet the one who she was particularly attached to, and who was particularly attached to her, was Sophia. The day before she was set to leave she woke up to the little girl crawling into her bed, well Odd's bed really, and snuggling up to her side.

"Lita," she whispered. "Are you 'wake?" Aelita peaked open one green eye at the tiny blonde in her little blue board shorts and white tank top. "Lita," she whispered again.

"I'm awake," Aelita yawned, burying her face in her pillow. Sophia snuggled in closer, pushing at the older girl's cheek.

"Good mo'ning!" Sophia laughed. Aelita smiled, wrapping her arms around the little girl and pulling her against her.

"What are you doing waking me up so early, Soph?" She loved how much Sophia liked to cuddle with her. It was a contact that she didn't get very often. Once in a while with Odd, but it really upset Jeremie so she tried to limit it, and since he was still too shy to…

"Don't w'eave," Sophia demanded, pulling her hands up under her chin, leaning into Aelita. "Stay wiff us, kay?"

"I have to go see my friend in Japan still, and then go back to school, Sophia. I'll come back to visit. Would you like if I did that?" she reasoned. Sophia pouted.

"Stay," she insisted. "Don't you w'ike me?"

"Of course I like you!"

"I like you, too!" the little girl beamed. Aelita chuckled, still half asleep.

"Well then how about you and I do something special today. Would you like that? We can do whatever you want." Sophia cheered, pulling away to bounce on her knees.

"Any'fing?" Aelita yawned, rolling onto her back. Sophia came crashing down into her arms.

"Anything."

'_Never agree to "anything".'_


	10. Of Homesickness

**Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Report of Sorts**

_**Of Homesickness**_

_**A/n: I did this instead of sleeping. W'oops. **_

* * *

_"Let go of her legs, Soph."_

_"Nuh-uh." Aelita sighed a little, hauling her duffle up on her shoulder._

_"I'm going to miss you, too," she told the tiny blonde, running her fingers through her hair comfortingly._

_"I want to go to 'apan!" Sophia cried. Odd peeled her off, pulling at her fingers until he could get her away, scooping her up in his arms._

_"Hey, you don't like my friend better than me, do you?" he teased. Sophia pouted._

_"Yes." Aelita laughed at her answer, hugging them both at the same time. _

_"I'm going to miss you both so much. I had such a wonderful time." As excited as she was to get to Japan and see Yumi for the first time all summer, she was just as distraught about leaving her new found friends with the Della Robbias. Especially after how much she had bonded with Sophia and Delilah. _

_"'apan!" Sophia insisted, clinging back to Aelita._

_"How about I send you something pretty, okay?" Aelita offered, smiling at Odd._

_"Do I get something pretty?" he asked. Sophia pulled away, looking like she was considering._

_"Okay," she said. Odd kissed Sophia's forehead, leaning over to kiss Aelita's._

_"Odd," she laughed._

_"Have a safe flight," he told her. _

_"I'll see you in September." She smiled. _

_'Planes lose their novelty quickly.'_

"Aelita, where are you?" Jeremie laughed. Her face appeared on his computer screen, crammed in between a lot of luggage and something silver.

"Hi!" she giggled. "I'm at the airport, getting ready to fly out to Yumi's!"

"Are you in the hold?" Jeremie laughed, resting his chin in his hand.

"No! I'm in a laptop cubby thing at the terminal." Jeremie glanced around her face, orienting her in one of those crammed little seats with the power outlets and old phones no one really uses anymore.

"Well, you seem to be having fun," he said. She nodded. He tilted his head, looking a bit uneasy but she didn't seem to notice.

"I took more pictures for you, would you like me to upload them now?"

"Uhm, sure." She blinked at his answer, holding her camera against her chest.

"Are you tired of all my pictures?" her cheeks turned pink. "I know I send a lot but I don't really get to see all of this every day and I really…"

"No, no!" Jeremie assured her. "I love your pictures, I do. I was just wondering about the uhm…" he motioned to his head. Aelita looked puzzled for a moment, touching her own hair.

"Oh!" she giggled. "Do you like it? It's very different, isn't it?" Jeremie chuckled nervously.

"It's blonde." Aelita laughed loudly.

"They're called streaks!" She shook her head and her hair flailed out around her face, sticking to her eyelashes haphazardly.

"I see that," he laughed. "Did Odd talk you into that?"

"Nope!

"Oh."

"Sophia did!" Jeremie stared at the girl.

"The… baby?"

"She's not really a baby, Jer. I believe the term is-"

"I mean Odd's little sister."

"Yes! She's so precious." This was clearly not a conversation that would lead to anything but confusion.

"It looks great on you, Lita," Jeremie told her, smiling. She beamed.

"Thank you." Her smile wavered just a little and the boy picked up on it like radar.

"What's wrong?" She shifted, wrapping her arms around her duffle.

"It's nothing, Jer. I'm just feeling a little… oh, what's the word?" She glanced around like she would find it. "Oh, I don't know. I feel like I'm in a hurry to get back to Kadic. Isn't that silly? I miss Yumi, oh and I miss you too! But, I just feel.."

"Homesick." He finished for her.

"Yes!"

"It's understandable, Kadic's your home." She didn't answer, just stared wistfully at the screen, wondering if he was right. She'd never considered it one way or the other. "Right?" he asked.

"No, you're right," she assured him. "I guess I'm just homesick." Jeremie smiled at her lightly.

"Well, you'll be home before you know it."

"I miss you," she blurted.

"I miss you, too," he assured her. "Hurry up and get back to France, okay?" Aelita grinned up at him. A voice filled his speakers.

"All passengers boarding for Kyoto, Japan are now boarding…"

"That's me!" Aelita squeaked, cheeks flushed. "I'll call you when I land! Bye Jer!"

"Bye Lita. See you soon." 


	11. Of Rule Breakers and Rose Roots

_**Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Report of Sorts**_

_**Of Rule Breakers and Rose Roots**_

_**A/n: Keep your snarky comments about productivity to yourselves. Lovelovelove.**_

_**Dedication: To Adventurer411 for all her help with this chapter. Writers like her are our future... so let's listen.**_

* * *

**_A_**elita was on the phone with Jeremie when she spotted the little bounce-weave-bounce dance Yumi was doing to see over the crowd of people at the airport.

"I see her!" the younger girl laughed.

"_Well, tell her I said hello,_" Jeremie insisted.

"Konichiwa," Aelita greeted flawlessly when Yumi finally broke the line of people and baggage.

"I'm impressed," she laughed, before tugging the girl into a hug.

"Jer says hi!" she squeaked, the phone balanced awkwardly against her shoulder. Yumi took it from her, pulling Aelita's duffle onto her shoulder.

"Hey Jer. I know you miss your princess but I've got to get her home."

"_You guys are monopolizing her. Next summer you should all stay in France._"

"Bye Jer."

"_Bye Yumes._" Yumi handed the phone back to the girl.

"I was going to bow, you know," Aelita told her off-handishly, picking up the rest of her bags. "I read up on Japanese culture the entire plane ride here. It's actually very interesting considering how steeped in tradition-" Yumi just laughed, slinging her arm around the girl.

"I missed you."

"I've missed you too! Oh, I loved being with the boys, and I had so much fun with their families, but there was a certain amount of... of..."

"Girl bonding?" Yumi offered and she steered Aelita towards the exit.

"Yes!... Does that sound awful?" She tilted her head, her new streaks catching the bright lights of the overhead floods as they made it through the doors.

Yumi laughed. "Absolutely not. I completely agree. It's nice visiting family and all, but I'm not sure how I survived with just those boys before we got you here." There was a cab waiting for the girls at the curb when they finally emerged. Yumi leaned in and said something that wasn't even close to being recognizable to the driver before loading Aelita's bags into the back seat and pulling the girl in behind her. It was a tight fit, and the bags took up a lot of room, leaving the two of the squished together in the corner of the cab.

It didn't bother Aelita. She smiled, head rested on Yumi's shoulder.

"Did you have fun at Odd's?" Yumi asked, absently smoothing down the other girl's hair. Her mother hen tendencies twitched. She hadn't had anyone to look after all summer, not including Hiroki.

"Yes," Aelita answered. "It was great. I loved his family and Sophia and I got so attached."

"I heard." She picked at one of the streaks teasingly, holding it straight up. "She really had you wrapped around her finger."

"You should see all the pictures I took!" Aelita beamed, batting away her hand. "And Odd's parents were just so kind and welcoming and his father! He acted like I was one of his kids and I just... I just..." Her smile fell suddenly. "I just haven't had that before. Well, not that I remember. It was nice."

"I know." Yumi squeezed her shoulder. "Odd called to tell me. They really loved having you. He also reminded me that you have to buy him something pretty?"

Aelita's grin returned. "It's the only way Soph would release my legs- If I picked her out something pretty in Japan and of course Odd's not to be forgotten."

"I feel for his future children," Yumi teased. The cab came to stop in front of a house and Aelita plastered herself to the window.

"Is this where you're staying?" she asked. "It's beautiful!"

"It's small," Yumi corrected. "It's a rental, really. We sold the house we used to live in before we ever moved to France."

"It's charming!" Aelita squealed, and she struggled for a moment before finding the handle to release the door and send them both tumbling onto the driveway. The cab driver laughed at them, coming around to get the bags from the back.

Yumi thanked him in Japanese and Aelita smiled politely when he unloaded the armful bags on Yumi and she handed him strange looking money as payment.

"I can get those," Aelita protested.

"Shush," Yumi groaned. "Guest. Third speech."

"The boys told you." Aelita laughed following the girl into the house.

"Aelita!" There was a flash of color and then Aelita felt herself falling backwards.

"Hiroki!" she laughed.

"You're here! I'm so glad you're here!" He smashed his face into the girl's stomach.

"I'm glad I'm here too," she laughed, staggering back a few steps. "How's your summer?"

"Oh, it's good! Wait I got you a present!" And as fast as he appeared he was gone. Yumi sighed and the girl eyed her skeptically.

"Pretend to like it," Yumi begged.

"I'm sure I will!" Hiroki came bounding into living room, a flower jutted out from his hand, the root still dangling from it. "Here! I got this for you! Well, I picked it for you, but I don't think Mr. Yimoki will even notice and it's just one and-"

"It's beautiful," Aelita assured him, taking it from him delicately. She tried to not shake the loose dirt onto the floor. "Thank you, Hiroki."

"You're welcome!" he chirped.

"Take these upstairs for your girlfriend, okay?" Yumi teased, handing over one of Aelita's bags. Her brother didn't even blink before the was shooting up the stairs towards the room Yumi was sleeping in.

Aelita grinned, dropping down next to the little coffee table in the living room, sinking into the pillows around it. "He's sweet, Yumi."

"I'm sure," Yumi sighed, sitting down across from her.

"Are you mom and dad home? And is it strange I'm oddly excited to see some adults I recognize?"

"No, they're thrilled to have you. They had to do dinner with one of dad's work associates. So it looks like we're on our own for dinner...but." She ended the statement with a shrug.

"I've been reading up on the chopstick techniques!" Aelita told her, lifting her arms into the air because she was too tired to lift her head.

"That's so sweet. We bought forks."

"Oh." Aelita sounded a little dejected. "Can we do girl bonding stuff?"

"Uhhh..." Yumi weighed her options. She leaned against the table, folding her arms under her chin. "What like paint each others nails? Yeah, we can do that." Aelita gave a sound of approval.

Hiroki appeared for a fraction of a second to grab the rest of Aelita's stuff before taking off up the stairs again albeit a little unsteady.

"We need to talk," Yumi said when he was gone. "You're in trouble."

Aelita sat up, giving her a worried look. "Trouble? What did I do?"

The older girl leveled her with a look. "I believe I specifically said no cliff diving." A grin broke out on the younger girl's face.

"But Yumi-"

"Specifically. You gave poor Jer a heart attack."

"I didn't mean to. And it was so much fun! And Jeremie understands I'm just... experiencing...things." She chewed at her lip. "Is he really upset with me? Oh, I've ruined things now, haven't I?"

"Of course not," Yumi sighed. "Come on. Let's find something to eat. Clearly this is going to be a long night of bonding."

_Sometimes it takes poptarts, pizza rolls and nail polish and a little bit of girl talk to feel at home again. _


	12. Of Morning Texts and Long Distance Calls

**Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Report of Sorts**  
_**Of Morning Texts and Long-distance Calls**_  
_**A/n: Dropping this your way as we wind down towards the end of this fic. I'd say four chapters left tops. I hope you're enjoying! Shoutout to Vena and Soul over at XL for their help this week. Love you guys!** _

* * *

**_Y_**umi woke up tangled in a mess of sheets and pink hair. Aelita wasn't a very good bed sharer, as it turned out. She stole the covers and took her half out of the middle. Her little body gave off way more heat than Yumi would have assumed and she probably would have ended up on the floor if it wasn't for the fact her bed was pressed against the wall.

Groggily she rubbed her eyes, untangling herself from the younger girl one limb at a time.

"Good morning," Aelita murmured, stretching and nearly knocking the girl in the head in the process.

"Morning," Yumi answered, slipping off the bed.

"'Time is it?" Aelita asked, glancing around for a clock.

"Early," Yumi answered, checking her phone to see what time it was. There were two texts from Odd.

_Odd: Get online, Yumers!_  
_Odd: Up and at 'em ladies!_

"I think we're suppose to get online with the boys."

Aelita rolled to the edge of the bed, groping for her laptop on the floor.

"Have you talked to Ulrich since you got in?" she asked, feet kicking as she got hold of the half hidden laptop.

"I called him a few times," Yumi said dismissively, digging a brush out from under one of Aelita's bags and a pile of flip-flops to run through her hair. Aelita booted up her laptop. Yumi's phone ringed from where she'd tossed it on the dresser.

_Odd: Seriously, get up._  
_Ulrich: Odd is about to lose his mind. Get online with us?_

Yumi texted him back. _We're primping. Give us a sec_, she teased.

_Ulrich: Oh God._

"Yumi, come on," Aelita laughed, folding her legs under herself. The screen chimed as three video feeds started. Yumi scooted onto the bed next to her.

"Hey!" Odd greeted. "Look who finally got up! Late night? Too much sake?"

"Shut it, Odd," Yumi said playfully.

"Nice bed head," Ulrich teased. Jeremie just waved.

"You're just jealous my bed fresh look is adorable," Yumi answered, glancing over at Aelita. "And Aelita is just... adorable." She ran her fingers through the girl's hair quickly. Aelita laughed, batting her hand away. She leaned across the bed to steal Yumi's brush.

"How's Japan?" Jeremie asked, but the boy were rolling their eyes because clearly what he was asking was do you still miss me?

"I haven't seen a lot of it. Honestly, I'm just happy to be relaxing." She blinked, brush paused halfway through her hair. "Not that I didn't enjoy Germany! And New Zealand! I just..."

"We understand," Jeremie assured her. "Everyone needs some down time."

Yumi raised her hand. "I'm all about down time. And non boy time."

Ulrich pouted. "I miss you too, Yumes."

"I miss you, t-" Yumi started but a loud screeching from Odd's end cut her off.

"Lita? Is it Lita?- Lita!" A little blonde popped up, scrambled into Odd's lap.

"Soph, you're supposed to be in bed," Odd protested from the background.

"Hello, Sophia!" Aelita cooed, grinning at the screen. She reached out absently to trace the little smile on the girl's face.

"This is Sophia?" Yumi asked. "Oh, Aelita has told me so much about you." Sophia giggled, bouncing around on Odd.

"She did? We're friends! righ' Lita?"

"Right," Aelita agreed.

Sophia gasped. "_Oh'wick_! Hi Oh'wick!"

"Hey trouble," Ulrich greeted. "Did you take good of my friend Aelita?" Sophia's head bobbed. "I'm glad. She needs someone to take care of her when we're not around."

"Lita, is that your boyfriend?" Aelita blushed, stealing a glance at Jeremie who was just as red faced.

"What do you think, Soph?" she asked.

"He's cute!" the tot chirped. Yumi laughed, bumping her shoulder against Aelita's.

"I think so, too," Aelita admitted, smiling. Jeremie blushed brighter, rubbing at his neck.

"Alright, Sophia Marie. Bedtime. Say goodnight."

"Goodni'h!" She waved, sliding down from her brother's lap.

"I'm going to put her back to bed," Odd told his friends. "Back in sec." His bright face disappeared from the screen.

"He's surprisingly good with her," Ulrich offered.

Aelita nodded. "He's really good with all his sisters! They're all so sweet."

"She's adorable," Yumi laughed. "I can see how she had you wrapped around her finger." When Aelita looked confused, Yumi tugged at one of her blonde streaks.

"It seems like you've made a few new friends," Jeremie finally managed.

"I still love my old ones," Aelita assured him.

"This one needs breakfast," Yumi pointed out rolling off the bed in favor of the kitchen.

"Oh! How're the chopsticks?" Jeremie asked. Ulrich's grin was impossible to contain. Aelita only looked slightly crestfallen.

"Yumi bought forks."

_Sometimes distance isn't really anything at all. And it's nothing to friendship._


	13. Of the Ends of Travel

**Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Report of Sorts**  
**_Of the Ends of Travel_**  
**_A/n: Kitty decided we need to write, so I'm planning to finish this story very, very soon. I just realized it's been... almost five years. Ye-ouch, sorry everyone! But thanks for sticking with me!_**

* * *

_A_elita's time in Japan was almost her favorite, though the least exciting of the bunch. Maybe that's why it was her favorite. It was her last trip before heading home to France, and it was quiet and relaxing and full of wandering around shopping areas and eating ice cream in a park. (Yumi said she was running in the morning to stay in shape, but they'd run to the park and then walk back. And eat ice cream from a vender as a reward. Aelita wasn't convinced it was really for exercise but a way to get ice cream faster.)

Hiroki wandered around and bothered them when he was in the same general area and Yumi explained he had a crush on Aelita. It was harmless, but it would break his heart if they told him about Jeremie waiting for the girl back in France. So they let him continue to fawn over the girl and bring them popcorn and refill their coffee cups. Because that's what little brothers were for anyways.

Aelita liked the way Yumi's family ate together. Everyone sat on the floor, like at her house, and the whole thing felt informal to her- like it was a good way for families to gather. It wasn't like the light hearted bickering at the Sterns' or loud and rowdy dish passing at the Della Robbias'. She wasn't sure which she liked better but she knew she also liked the quiet and relaxed dinners she'd had with Yumi's parents and brother.

"What are you working on?"

Aelita was on the couch, feet up on the coffee table with her laptop nestled into her lap. "I'm sorting pictures," she explained, chewing on her thumb nail. "I think I may have taken too many."

Yumi rolled her eyes, leaning over the back of the couch. "I don't think so. It's been an exciting summer. And it's not even over yet. You still have to head back to Jeremie."

Aelita's eyes flicked up towards the older girl for a moment. "Uh huh." Her fingers skimmed over the trackpad, dropping photos of ponds and Charlie asleep in the sunshine into their respective folders.

"What?" Yumi asked.

Aelita looked up in alarm. "What?" she echoed. Yuumi tugged her laptop away from her.

"I've systematically brought Jeremie up three times this morning and you've shut down on me every time." Aelita folded her legs under herself, tucking her hands under her knees for nothing better to do with them. "Aelita," Yumi insisted playfully.

"It's nothing!" the younger girl said, leaning away. Yumi stared at her, unmoving. "Can I have my pictures back please? I wasn't finished."

"Did you pack your bags up?"

"You know I did."

"And you've gotten so good at doing it yourself!"

Aelita snatched her laptop back. "I've had a lot of practice." She flipped the lip of her computer back open.

"So why aren't you excited about seeing Jeremie?"

"I am."

Yumi kicked her feet out, falling over to lean into Aelita's shoulder. The girl tried to shrug her off but Yumi made herself dead weight against her. "You've bitten your nails all the way down."

"I'm just nervous!" Aelita huffed.

Yumi blinked up at her. "About seeing Jeremie?"

"Yes! Yes? Yes! I'm nervous about seeing Jeremie. I haven't seen him all summer! What if he doesn't like me anymore? What if he met someone while we were gone? While I was roaming the Eastern Hemisphere!" When Yumi didn't answer Aelita straightened up in her seat.

"That's why we haven't left for the airport yet? Because you think Jeremie met some other genius princess?"

"Can we please stop talking about it?"

"Nope."

"It's highly improbable-"

"Considering that he practically lives for your daily photo updates," Yumi pointed out.

"-but I've encountered a lot of new emotions on this trip! I'm having trouble reconciling-"

"You're going home," Yumi laughed. "I'm putting you on that plan and when you get off it Jeremie will be waiting for you with open arms. And there's nothing you can do about it."

Aelita sighed. "That actually sounds pretty good."

"I thought you might say that." She slipped off the couch. "Now come on, you have a flight to catch, don't you?"

"Alright," Aelita sighed. "How long until you're back in France with us?"

"You and Jer have two blissful Einstein weeks to... do whatever it is you do now that there's not towers to check and keys to decipher."

Aelita let the taller girl pull her to her feet. "Come on, Yumi. I need to get home."

There's no place like home- there's no place like home!

Her hands were shaking in her lap when the plane touched down, fiddling with the clasp on her seatbelt in anticipation of making a break for the gangway. Everything felt like it was taking too long, from waiting to disembark to waiting to get her luggage from the carousel. Aelita rocked back on her heels, watching carefully for her bag. She spotted it at the top of the conveyor belt and made a dash for it, weaving between other passengers waiting for their own bags.

She'd just about reached it when it was pulled out from under her. "Welcome home."

Aelita gasped, spinning around and smack into Jeremie. "Jer!" She laughed, wrapping her arms around the boy.

Jeremie laughed, fumbling with her bags, swaying a little as Aelita rocked him side to side. "I'm glad you're back."

"Oh, I missed you!"

"I-I missed you, too!" Jeremie stammered. "How was your trip?" He put her at an arm's length. "How was your summer?"

"It was so fun!" Aelita laughed, tugging her carry-on back onto her shoulder. "It was great! I wish you could have been there!" Jeremie flushed, grinning as she started to rattle off all the things she'd done with Yumi.

"That's great, Lita. I'm glad you had fun. Are you ready to go? Is this everything?" Aelita nodded, trying to take the bags back from him. "Hey!" he laughed. "I've got it. The car's out front, but I should probably warn you..."

"What?" Aelita asked.

"My mother is home-"

"I can't wait to meet her!"

"Yes, well, she draws a lot of her own conclusions that she's not exactly quiet about, so she should be fairly embarrassing over the next few days."

Aelita just laughed. "I'm sure it will be fine."

"Let's get you out of this airport," Jeremie offered, leading her towards the doors.

A bigger smile spread to the girl's face. "You know what this means? No more traveling!"


	14. Of Being Home

**Summer of the Traveling Princess: A Report of Sorts**

_**Of Being Home**_

**A/n: John is literally pinning my leg on the couch until I finish this chapter. He's asleep on me. So.**

* * *

_**J**_eremie grinned nervously as he lead Aelita up the walk to the cottage like house set back on a perfectly manicured lawn. The picture windows were pushed open, the soft sheer curtains rippling in the wind.

They weren't even in the front door before Jeremie's mother was bursting into the foyer, hands folded under her chin."Aelita! So nice to have you back in France!"

Jeremie rolled his eyes, bumping the girl with his arm as he set her bags down outside of a doorway left of the entrance.

"It's nice to finally meet you Mrs. Belpois." Aelita smiled politely, tucking a stray blonde streak behind her ear.

"Michael!" The woman turned to call down the hall. "Jeremie is back with Aelita!" There was a muffled reply. Aelita blushed a little, still not used to the reception that her friends' families' had for her. "Oh, Jeremie has had your pictures up on the computer in the great room since you left. Just a beautiful as he described."

"Mom," Jeremie groaned. "Can we get her in the house before you beg her to be your daughter-in-law?"

Aelita laughed in surprise, nudging the blonde when he returned to her side. "Jeremie!"

Jeremie's father took that chance to lean out into the hallway. "Anyone hungry? I made lunch."

"Thank you, Michael." Jeremie almost looked relieved when the attention on him and Aelita was shifted. "Shall we have lunch before we get you settled in?"

_There's nothing better than a home cooked meal._

"It's nice to see you again, Aelita," Michael told the girl as she help clear off the counter where they'd had lunch. "Jeremie's been worried about you all summer. I understand that you've done a bit of globe trotting?"

"Yes! But I guess that would be the benefit of Kadic. My friends come from all over." She set her dishes down into the sink. "Though I'm thrilled to be home again. Traveling, well..."

"It loses its shine after a while." They laughed. "I've done a lot of traveling for work, so I understand the sentiment."

"Yes, well thank you for letting me stay. Move-in day for the non-summer residents put us in kind of a rough spot with the whole traveling idea."

The man waved her off with the dish towel as she reached for the faucet. "We're happy to have you."

Jeremie appeared next to her, relatively silent except for his fork knocking against the edge of his plate. "Would you like to see the grounds?" he asked her. From his pocket he pulled her little camera and the girl laughed, reaching for it.

"I'd love to!"

"Wait!" Jeremie's father reached for the camera instead, elbowing Jeremie until he was side by side with the girl. Aelita beamed, throwing her arms around him dramatically. "Okay," he laughed after he'd snapped the picture. "See you kids later."

Aelita took her camera back, and hooking her arm through the blonde genius's, tugged him towards the door.

Jeremie stopped short of the stairs when they reached the veranda. "Uh, could we... sit? For a while, actually?" He fidgeted looking away briefly.

"If you'd like," she answered. He motioned to the set of wicker chairs, with the cotton covers that matched the light flowing curtains she was so taken with. He sat stiffly next to her as she reflexively snapped pictures out over the railing of the yard and the garden in the background.

"At least you won't have to email those ones."

"I could still send them to you anyways," Aelita teased. She tucked it back into the pocket of her shorts. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yeah! Everything's... yeah! Great." He fussed over his glasses absently. "I just... I'm really glad you're home. Here."

"Home," Aelita agreed. "I didn't think I could really be homesick for a place I've barely been living in... but it's home."

"I missed you," Jeremie said quietly. The girl smiled at him.

"Jer, I missed you, too. That's why I was so pesky with all the photos..."

"I love them," he interrupted. "Actually, it was just nice that.. you thought of me so often while you were gone."

Aelita reached between them, taking his hand. The blonde turned even redder. "Everyday," she told him easily. "And I really think I was homesick for you."

Jeremie grinned, squeezing her hand. "I guess that makes us both home now, huh?" Aelita laughed, nodding. "I know we spend a lot of time together anyway, but I was wondering if, uh, if you'd consider going on a date with me."

"I'd love-"

"And I really don't even know the proper way to ask-"

"Well, then you're in luck," she cut him off. "Because neither do I."

Jeremie blushed, ducking his head for a moment. "Would you like to see the gardens?"

_Home is where the heart is. _


End file.
